India handed heavy defeat by New Zealand in opener

Pre-tournament favourites India suffered a shocking 58-run defeat to New Zealand in their opening match of ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 Group A at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in the UAE on Friday.

After electing to bat first on a slow wicket, world No. 4 New Zealand posted a competitive 160/4 in their 20 overs. Skipper Sophie Devine struck an unbeaten 57 off 36 while Renuka Singh, with figures of 2/27, was the pick of the bowlers from the Indian women’s cricket team.

In reply, world No. 3 India were bowled out on 102 in 19 overs. None of the batters, including Indian cricket captain Harmanpreet Singh and Smriti Mandhana, scored over 15 runs. Rosemary Mair (4/19) and Lea Tahuhu (3/15) stood out with the ball for the White Ferns.

Suzie Bates launched New Zealand’s Women’s T20 World Cup campaign with a boundary off the first ball and alongside Georgia Plimmer, capitalised on the powerplay to score 55/0 in six overs.

The 67-run opening stand was broken in the eighth over by pacer Arundhati Reddy, who dismissed Bates on 27 off 24. Aggressor Georgia Plimmer (34 off 23 balls) was also back in the pavilion in the next over by Asha Sobhana.

Back-to-back wickets affected New Zealand’s flow of runs for the next four overs, causing the run rate to drop below seven by the end of the 12th over.

Sophie Devine, who started her innings slowly, breathed life into New Zealand’s innings with consecutive boundaries off Sobhana in the 13th over.

Renuka Singh sent back a struggling Amelia Ker (13) in the 15th over. Brooke Halliday’s handy 16 off 12 eased the pressure on Devine, who stayed unbeaten to help the White Ferns post a challenging 160/4. Devine’s knock of 57 off 36 included seven fours and quick running between the wickets.

Needing to pull off the second-highest chase in the T20 World Cup history, Smriti Mandhana punched a boundary off the backfoot to begin India’s chase off the first ball.

However, Shafali Verma’s poor form continued with her third single-digit score in as many matches after she was caught and bowled on 2 off 4 on the first ball of the second over.

Wickets of Mandhana (12) and Harmanpreet Kaur (15) in the fourth and fifth overs, respectively, pushed India’s back against the wall. India scraped to 43/3 by the end of the powerplay overs.

India’s middle-order, comprising Jemimah Rodrigues (13), Richa Ghosh (12) and Deepti Sharma (13) also failed to convert their starts.

Pooja Vastrakar (8) hit India’s first boundary after the powerplay in the 14th over. She was dismissed by Amelia Kerr as the Indian team was reduced to 91/8 in 16 overs.

Shreyanka Patil (7) and Asha Sobhana (6) helped India cross the three-figure mark in the 19th over. However, Mair picked Patil and Renuka Singh on the final two balls of the over to end India’s innings on 102.

India’s next match in the T20 World Cup 2024 is against Pakistan on Sunday, October 6. Besides a win, India will also look to bring their net run rate into a positive with only two teams from Group A comprising India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and defending champions Australia progressing to the semi-finals.

IND-W vs NZ-W Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 brief scores: New Zealand 160/4 in 20 overs (Sophie Divine 57; Renuka Singh 2/27) beat India 102/10 in 19 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 15; Rosemary Mair 4/19) by 58 runs.

Click here to read article