On Wednesday, January 28, the Netherlands secured their maiden qualification for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026. The team defeated the USA in the Qualifiers match by 21 runs held in Kirtipur, Nepal. Joining them are Bangladesh, who also earned their spot in the tournament after beating Thailand by 39 runs. Netherlands is currently the top team in Group B rankings after registering wins over Zimbabwe, Scotland, Nepal, and Thailand. They still have two more matches remaining in the qualifiers against the top two teams from Group A, including Ireland and Bangladesh.
A rain disruption during the Netherlands vs. USA match was cut short. The USA Women started the innings with the bat and set a target of 129/7. The batting line-up struggled somewhat, with decent scores coming up from the top batters only. Openers Chetna Pagydyala (12 off 20), Gargi Bhogle (36 off 37), and Isani Vaghela (32* off 35) were the only valuable additions, while the remaining ones failed to add to the scores. The Netherlands bowlers finished strongly with Hannah Landheer picking up three wickets, Caroline de Lange took two, while Silver Siegers and Heather Siegers added one each.
For the Netherlands batters, the target chase was as easy as their innings ended after the 12th over due to rain, finishing with a score of 90/2. The rain prevented the match to continue further, which declared the Netherlands the winner as they were close to their run chase.
On the other side, Bangladesh took the win over Thailand to secure their spot in the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026. The team is currently leading their group table (Group A) after securing four consecutive victories over the USA, Papua New Guinea, Namibia, and Ireland. They, however, have two matches remaining in the qualifiers.
Both the Netherlands and Bangladesh are among the 10 qualified teams who have secured their entry in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026. A total of 12 teams will play this tournament, which begins on June 12 and will be held in England and Wales. Besides Netherlands and Bangladesh, England, Australia, India, New Zealand, South Africa, West Indies, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have previously qualified for the event. Meanwhile, Scotland, Ireland, the USA, and Thailand have to fight one another for the final two spots left in the Qualifiers.
In the ongoing Super Six Qualifiers event, Bangladesh and the Netherlands are the top two teams in the table rankings, currently tied at six points each. Bangladesh is currently with a net run rate of 1.150, while the Netherlands has a run rate of 0.865.
