Skipper Sophie Devine registered the first win for New Zealand Women with a brilliant half-century in the first game of their ICC Women’s T2O World Cup 2024 against Mighty Indian, the top contenders for the playoff.
New Zealand Women won the coin flip and elected to bat first and got a brilliant start with the opening batters, Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer.
The opening pair registered a 67-run partnership inside 8 overs, however, Arundhati Reddy gave India a much-needed breakthrough, dismissing Suzie Bates as Shreyanka Patil took a catch at deep mid-wicket.
India-W got another opener in the next over, making a comeback in the game, dismissing Georgia Plimmer for 34 runs in 23 deliveries. This time Asha Sobhana got a wicket with Smriti Mandhana taking a catch,, and the opening pair was back in the pavilion for 67 runs.
Amelia Kerr and skipper Sophie Devine were out there in the field for NZ-W, adding runs to the scoreboard.
However, the slow inning of Amelia ended after Renuka SIngh strikes in the 15th over of the game, and Amelia was sent back into the hut for just 13 runs in 23 deliveries.
Sophie Devine took the responsibility into her own hands and started hitting Indian bowlers for boundaries and completed her half-centuries.
She played an impactful inning for NZ-W with her unbeaten 57 runs in 36 deliveries with 7 boundaries at a strike rate of 158.33 while NZ W posted a total of 160 runs to the boards.
India opened with Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma however, the opening pair couldn’t do magic this time as Verma returned into the pavilion for just 2 runs in just the 2nd over of the inning.
Eden Carson took the catch of her bowling to dismiss Shafali Verma. Mandhana also couldn’t add much to the scoreboard and departed for just 12 runs in the fifth over, and Carson got the second wicket in her name.
India looked struggling to make runs and started collapsing thereafter as they lost their skipper, Harmanpreet Kaur, for just 15 runs. Jemimah Rodrigues added only 13 runs to the boards, while Richa Ghosh contributed 12 runs for India in the runchase.
India-W looked nowhere stable in the run chase as they tumbled like the placards as half of the sides were back into the pavilion for just 70 runs in 11 overs.
The collapse didn’t stop there, as India kept on losing their wickets and got bundled up for just 102 runs in 19 overs. Rosemary Mair picked up 4 wickets for NZ-W conceding just 19 runs at an economy of 4.75.
Lea Tahuhu bowled an economical spell of just 15 runs with an economy of 3.75 and picked up 3 important wickets for the side.
NZ-W won the match by a huge margin of 58 runs and gave India an early setback in the first game of the T20 World Cup 2024.
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Top 5 Moments of IND-W vs NZ-W
Sophie Devine’s Half-Century
- Sophie Devine smashed a brilliant half-century for the NZ-W in their first win of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. She is also the Player of the Match.
Rosemary’s 4 Wicket Haul
- Rosemary Pair was the highest wicket-taker for the NZ-W. She picked up 4 wickets conceding only 19 runs at an economy rate of 4.75. She registered her career-best figures in the T20 Cricket.
Amelia Ker’s Econmical Spell
- Amelia Kerr bowled the most economical spell of the game while bowling her full quota of overs. She conceded only 15 runs and picked up 3 wickets at an economy of 3.75.
Opening pair Dismissal of Eden Carson’s
- Eden Carson dismissed the opening pair single-handedly. She first dismissed Shefali Verma for just 2 runs taking catch of her bowling and then dismissed Smriti Mandhana in her next over for just 12 runs.
Renuka Singh Comeback Wickets
- NZ-W started well, as both of their opening pair did well in the powerplay overs and were playing with a good Net Run rate. India dismissed both openers in the consecutive overs but was struggling to pick up wickets. Renuka Singh picked up 2 wickets in the middle overs. She dismissed Amelai Ker and Brooke Halliday.
What’s your favorite moment of the IND-W vs NZ-W match? Is it Sophie Devine’s half-century or something else? Comment below…
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