India beat Netherlands in T20 World Cup despite Abhishek Sharma duck

India maintained their perfect start to the Men’s T20 World Cup with a 17-run victory over the Netherlands, despite a third successive duck for opener Abhishek Sharma.

Shivam Dube struck a blistering 66 to rescue the hosts after a shaky start in Ahmedabad.

The result ensures India finish top of Group A with an unblemished record of four wins from four matches.

Sharma makes unwanted history

With Super 8s qualification already secured, the home side elected to bat first.

However, the spotlight immediately fell on Sharma, who is currently ranked as the world’s number one T20 batter.

He faced just three deliveries before falling to a back-of-a-length ball from Aryan Dutt.

The dismissal makes the opener the first player in history to record ducks in their first three innings of a T20 World Cup.

It marks a difficult period for the batter, who has now registered five ducks in this calendar year.

Middle order powers hosts to imposing total

Following the early setback, the tournament favourites needed impetus from their middle order.

Dube provided the spark, smashing four fours and six sixes in a 31-ball cameo.

The left-hander found able support from Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav, who contributed 31 and 34 respectively.

Hardik Pandya added a useful 30 to help set a target of 194, despite Dutt and Logan van Beek taking five wickets between them.

Dutch chase stifled by spin

The Netherlands entered the contest knowing their tournament was over following Pakistan’s earlier win over Namibia.

Their chase struggled for momentum against disciplined bowling from the hosts.

Varun Chakravarthy was the pick of the attack, claiming clinical figures of 3-14 from his three overs.

The mystery spinner tore through the middle order, leaving the Dutch reeling at 94-4 inside 13 overs.

Despite late boundaries from Zach Lion-Cachet and Noah Croes, the visitors never threatened the target and finished on 176-7.