A fiery opening partnership and Sophie Devine’s outstanding 57* saw New Zealand post the highest total of the tournament so far, leaving India requiring 161 to win.

And the chase rarely looked on, with wickets falling all-too-regularly for Harmanpreet Kaur’s India, who were bowled out 58 runs shy of their target, leaving them in a difficult position in Group A.

On a pitch that had looked good for batting in the first innings, India’s top order failed to get going, with five of the top six reaching double figures but nobody passing 15.

Eden Carson did the damage early on, removing both openers, taking a return catch to dismiss Shafali Verma (2) and having Smriti Mandhana caught at long-on for 12.

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur looked in good touch as she led the recovery, but fell at the back-end of the powerplay when she was trapped in-front by Rosemary Mair.

And wickets continued to fall, as Jemimah Rodrigues’ promising knock came to an abrupt end when she was caught for 13(11), leaving India needing their middle order to pull off a rescue job.

With the required rate rising, India needed something special, but the increasingly unlikely task proved too much, as New Zealand rattled through the wickets to expose the tail and leave the match done as a contest well before the final delivery.

Richa Ghosh (12), Deepti Sharma (13), Arundhati Reddy (1), Pooja Vastrakar (8), Shreyanka Patil (7) and Renuka Singh were the remaining wickets to fall, as India were bowled out for 102.

Rosemary Mair’s 4/19 were the pick of the figures, with Lea Tahuhu taking 3/15, Eden Carson bagging 2/34 and Melie Kerr finishing with 1/19.

The story of the first innings
Earlier, New Zealand won the toss and captain Sophie Devine opted to bat first in Dubai’s first evening game.

And that decision was vindicated by a superb powerplay, with the White Ferns openers putting on 55 runs in the first six overs and benefitting from some poor fielding from India.

Arundhati Reddy thought she’d picked up the wicket of Suzie Bates when the veteran skied a catch to the back-tracking Richa Ghosh, only for the keeper to put the chance down.

But the damage wasn’t too great, with Reddy getting Bates in her next over, with the opener holing out for 27 off 24 balls.

And one wicket soon brought two, as Asha Sobhana ended Georgia Plimmer’s sparkling knock of 34 (23).

A solid partnership between captain Sophie Devine and Melie Kerr looked to have come to an end when India appealed for a run out as the batters looked to take a second run, but the umpires ruled that the ball had been dead and not out was the call, prompting lengthy discussions between the players and officials on the field.

That incident had little bearing ultimately, with Kerr (13) departing two balls later when she picked out Pooja Vastrakar off the bowling of Renuka Singh.

But the runs kept on flowing for the Kiwis, with Devine finding the boundary time and again in a brilliant half-century that set her side up beautifully.

Brooke Halliday added 16 runs with a lively cameo, and Maddy Green (5*) found the boundary late on as New Zealand reached 160/4 – a total that proved more than enough to pull off an important win.

This match was the opening game of the tournament for both teams, with India and New Zealand joined in Group A by defending champions Australia, Asia Cup winners Sri Lanka, and opening-day victors Pakistan.

Neither side has ever won a Women’s T20 World Cup, but both have reached finals in the past, with New Zealand finishing runners up in 2009 and 2010, and India beaten in the 2020 final.

Source: ICC

BDST: 1006 HRS, OCT 05, 2024
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