New Zealand outclassed India by 58 runs in their opening match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup at Dubai International Stadium here on Friday. Kiwis’ emphatic win made Group A more open after Pakistan upset Sri Lanka on Thursday. Six-time champions Australia is the fifth team in the group.
Sophie Devine’s unbeaten 36-ball 57 gave late impetus to New Zealand’s. Kiwis posted a challenging 160 for 4 in the first innings. Openers Suzie Bates (27) and Georgia Plimmer (34) gave Kiwis a brisk start with a half century stand. For India, Renuka Singh took two wickets for 27 runs.
Chasing a stiff target, India lost both openers in the first five overs. Off-break bowler Eden Carson took a return catch of Shafali Sharma in her first ball of the spell and later Smriti Mandhana holed out to Maddy Green straight over bowler Carson’s head. Harmanpreet Kaur went back on the umpire’s call after being trapped on the pads by Rosemary Mair as India was tottering at 42/3 inside the powerplay.
Runs were hard to come by and Richa survived a lbw review but Indian innings were going nowhere, the asking rate touching 10. Jemima Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh holed out inside the circle as right-arm medium pacer Lea-Marie Tahuhu accounted for all three to put complete brakes on the chase.
The ball seemed to stop a bit in the second innings and Indian batters were content to play in the air. Arundhati Reddy fell similarly as the Indian innings imploded at 102 in 19 overs. Rosemary Mary bagged four, Tahuhu picked three wickets while Carson took two wickets.
Batting first, Bates struck medium pacer Pooja Vastrakar for two fours in the first three deliveries to set the tone for the rest of the innings. Spin was introduced in the third over in the form of Deepti Sharma but a straight four and then six over long-on by Georgia Plimmer yielded 16 runs from the over.
Wicket-keeper Ghosh dropped a miscued skier from Plimmer as India looked out of ideas in the powerplay which yielded 55 runs. Kiwis were cruising before the 67-run opening stand was broken in the eighth over.
Arundhati sent dangerous Bates back to the pavilion after she tried to hammer over mid-wicket but mistimed to pick Shreyanka Patil in the deep. Plimmer fell in next over, stepping out to find Smriti Mandhana at long-on giving a reward to leg-spinner Asha Sobhana. Indian bowlers tightened the screws and at the halfway stage New Zealand was 72 for 2.
India gained more control over the game but Devine broke shackles with two boundaries of Sobhana in the 13th over. Amelia Kerr also gave support as the duo tried to bring things on track and upset the bowlers’ rhythms.
Run out controversy
In the last ball of the 14th over there was a controversy, Kerr was run out and walking back, but the fourth umpire near the boundary stopped Kerr and she was ruled not out as the umpires had declared the ball dead. The reason was, the umpire was returning the cap to the bowler, before the start of the second run.
Skipper Kaur was distraught and was involved in an argument with the on-field umpire, head coach Amol Muzumdar was also visibly upset and pleading the case with a match official but things calmed out after consultation of the fourth umpire with Mazumdar, Kaur, and Mandhana. Kerr however, fell in the next over as Kaur was pumped up.
Left-hander Brooke Halliday reverse pulled and then used an orthodox sweep to find two boundaries and Devine joined the party with another boundary as Deepti’s four overs went for 45 runs. Devine took charge in the last two overs to give her side a good total.
