Deepti Sharma has started strong in the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, contributing valuable runs and important wickets in India’s two matches so far.
After taking five wickets in India’s opening match against Pakistan at Edgbaston, Birmingham, Deepti made headlines on Wednesday, June 17, during the game against the Netherlands at Headingley, Leeds.
She dismissed Phebe Molkenboer in the eighth over, tying with former pacer Jhulan Goswami for the most wickets in women’s International Cricket.
Both Jhulan and Deepti now have 355 international wickets each. They are followed by England’s Katherine Sciver-Brunt (335), Australia’s Ellyse Perry (332), England’s Sophie Ecclestone (327), and South Africa’s Shabnim Ismail (318).
With 166 wickets in 124 ODI matches, Deepti is India’s second-highest wicket-taker, just behind Jhulan (255). In T20Is, she leads with 167 wickets in 146 matches, along with 22 wickets in six Tests.
During the match against the Netherlands, India batted first, with Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma both scoring impressive half-centuries. Contributions from Yastika Bhatia, Richa Ghosh, and Deepti helped India score over 200 runs, setting a target of 210 for the Dutch team.
In the Netherlands’ innings, only the top four batters reached double figures, with skipper Babette de Leede scoring the highest at 28 runs off 27 balls. For India, Shree Charani excelled with four wickets while Shafali added three, and Nandni Sharma, in her Women’s T20 World Cup debut, took two wickets. Unfortunately, Shreyanka Patil had to be carried off the field due to a leg injury sustained while fielding.