Smriti Mandhana’s century leads India to 6-wicket win over New Zealand; India win ODI series 2-1
India won the three-match Women’s ODI series against New Zealand 2-1, with Smriti Mandhana scoring her eighth ODI century, leading the team to victory.
The decider was won by the hosts with a six-wicket victory at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, October 29. Mandhana also created a historic milestone by surpassing Mithali Raj’s record for the most centuries by an Indian female batter in ODIs.
New Zealand managed to score 232 in 49.5 overs
Choosing to bat first, the White Ferns were dismissed for 232 in 49.5 overs. Suzie Bates, Lauren Down, and Sophie Devine were dismissed for low scores, but Georgia Plimmer and Brooke Halliday brought calmness back to the situation. Plimmer managed to score 39 runs from 67 deliveries before being dismissed by leg-spinner Priya Mishra.
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India’s chase
India suffered an early setback as Shafali Verma was dismissed by Hannah Rowe, providing the White Ferns with a vital breakthrough. Following that, Mandhana and Yastika Bhatia scored 76 runs together for the second wicket in 17.2 overs. Following Bhatia’s dismissal at 35, Mandhana stabilized the innings, ensuring India avoided any further setbacks.
She partnered with Harmanpreet and together they added 117 runs for the third wicket. Mandhana scored a century off 122 balls with 10 boundaries before Rowe dismissed her.
On the contrary, Harmanpreet remained undefeated until the conclusion, hitting six boundaries to score 59 from 63 balls.
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Jemimah Rodrigues played a brief cameo of 22 runs from 18 deliveries before being caught by Fran Jonas. Harmanpreet hit a four through covers off Devine as India chased down the target with 34 balls left.
