India’s Women’s T20 World Cup campaign began poorly as they suffered a 58-run loss to New Zealand in their opening match. The Indian team was dismissed for 102 runs in 19 overs while chasing a target of 161 at the Dubai International Stadium.
India vs New Zealand: Poor batting display cost India
The explosive Shafali Verma was dismissed for 2, after which Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur also got out quickly. All three players returned to the pavilion during the powerplay overs, and soon after Jemimah Rodrigues was caught by Maddy Green at mid-on. India was at 63/4 midway through the innings.
Things got worse for India, who lost their sixth wicket with just 75 on the board. The wickets then kept tumbling one after the other.
Also read: Women’s T20 World Cup: Pakistan kickstart campaign with 31-run win over SL
India vs New Zealand: Sophie Devine’s 57 help New Zealand pile up 160/4
Previously, Sophie Devine, the captain of New Zealand, remained not out on 57 runs from 36 deliveries, enabling her team to score 160/4 in their allotted 20 overs after choosing to bat first.
Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer put on a dynamic display at the beginning, scoring 55/0 in the powerplay. India faced more difficulties in the field when Richa Ghosh missed catching Bates at 19 and Renuka Singh’s mistake led to a boundary.
Also read: Women’s T20 World Cup: Top 5 Players to Watch Out For
Nevertheless, India bounced back following the powerplay as Arundhati Reddy disrupted the partnership. Shreyanka Patil caught Bates deep in the field on 27(24). Asha Sobhana took a wicket in the following over, ending Plimmer’s impressive innings of 34 runs off 23 balls. Devine kept the momentum going with Amelia Kerr while India’s poor fielding continued to be a problem.
India vs New Zealand: The dead ball controversy
The team failed to take advantage of a run-out chance in the 12th over. The 14th over became eventful when a dead ball dispute prevented Kerr from being run out, making the situation more intriguing.
Also read: Top 5 Players with Most Player of the Series Awards in Tests
However, Kerr’s second chance was brief as she was dismissed for 13(22) in the following over by Renuka Thakur. Deepti Sharma stood out as the most expensive of all Indian bowlers. She conceded 45 runs without taking any wickets in her allotted overs.
