As was the case in India’s first encounter in the ICC Women’s World Cup league stage against New Zealand, the team led by Mithali Raj was defeated by a score of 62 runs on Thursday.
New Zealand thrashed India by 62 runs in their second league-stage encounter of the ICC Women’s World Cup here on Thursday, thanks to an insipid batting display from India. With a first-innings total of 260 for 9, New Zealand, who had thrashed the Indians all summer, continued their unbroken pattern of dominance. Once they had suffocated the ‘Women in Blue,’ they bowled them for 198 in 46.4 overs.
After this setback, India has fallen to sixth in the overall standings, while New Zealand, with two victories from three games, is now in second place behind Australia.
Only two individuals had a significant impact on the final score: Puja Vastrakar took 4 for 34 in 10 overs and Harmanpreet Kaur struck 71 from 62 balls.
In the end, it was Vastrakar’s four-for that helped keep New Zealand’s total below 280; nonetheless, Harmanpreet’s runs helped her regain some confidence for the next games.
Half-sisters Amelia Kerr (50 and 3/56 in 9 overs) and Mithali Raj (31 off 56 balls) both made half-centuries before Kerr broke through with a flighted delivery.
She dismissed Richa Ghosh (0) with a quick google, making it nearly impossible for India.
She also grabbed Harmanpreet at the end to make it a complete performance. As for the other wickets, seamers Lea Tahuhu and Hayley Jensen both claimed three.
Smriti Mandhana (6 off 21 balls), Yastika Bhatia (28 off 59 balls), and Deepti Sharma (5 off 13 balls) were unable to rotate the strike in the pursuit of 261 when play got underway.
This is Mithali’s final event with the Indian team, and it’s not going to get any better.
So why did Ramesh Powar send three left-handers, including Shafali Verma, with Sophie Devine handing the new ball to off-break bowler Frances Mackay (8-11-25-0), who would take it away from the other side’s batswomen?
In the opening 15 overs, Mackay bowled as many as 27 dot balls, much like Deepak Patel did for the men’s squad in 1992, to stifle the flow of runs.
It’s been over a month since India last beat New Zealand in a one-day international, and the team has lost five of those matches.
In the first 20 overs of the game, the two teams battled and the game may be divided into two parts.
After the first 20 overs of New Zealand, 117 runs were scored for just two wickets, while India’s response was a miserable 50 for three.
The score was 67-0 in favor of the ‘White Ferns,’ and it’s easy to see how Mithali’s team’s fortunes sank after that.
Three of New Zealand’s four pillars — Suzie Bates (5), skipper Devine (35), No. 3 Kerr (50), and No. 4 Amy Satterthwaite (75) — played well on this particular day.
