It’s a tough group and this wasn’t the start the Indian girls were looking for. Everything went wrong for them at the Dubai International Stadium on Friday evening as the Women In Blue crashed to a 58-run loss.
While fielding wasn’t up to the mark when New Zealand batted, the famed Indian top-order struggled miserably on a sluggish pitch, losing early wickets in a chase of 161.It was crucial for India to have a good start, but opener Shafali Verma gave a tame return catch to offie Eden Carson in the second over.
The likes of Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues knew that it was mandatory to have a good Powerplay to stay in the hunt. But Smriti and Harmanpreet were dismissed within the first six overs — it seemed they were struggling to read the pace of the pitch.Jemimah departed soon after and the rest was just a walk in the park for the New Zealanders. It was only the third time that India were all out in a T20 game, their innings coming to a close in the 19th over for 102. In the lead-up to the World Cup, head coach Amol Muzumdar has repeatedly emphasised the importance of fielding and fitness.
Despite all the hard work that had been put in, the girls struggled in these two departments as New Zealand put up a fighting 160-4. Openers Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer steadily built their partnership as Indians kept misfielding and even dropped a crucial catch early on.
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In the final over of the Powerplay, two glaring mistakes displayed India’s early struggles in the field in hot conditions. First, Renuka Singh, stationed at deep square leg, misjudged a regulation stop to allow a boundary to Plimmer. Then, Bates enjoyed a huge slice of luck on 18. A top-edged sweep went high into the air, but wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh, attempting a reverse-cup, failed to hold onto the catch.
There were errors at the backend of the innings as well that helped New Zealand give India a tough target on a sluggish pitch.
After Plimmer and Bates were dismissed, the class of NZ captain Sophie Devine (57*, 36b; 7×4) took over. She brought all her experience into play and used her feet well in dealing with the Indian slow bowlers. She waited for the loose balls and played some strong shots which allowed New Zealand to push their run-rate up. Devine was rebuilding the New Zealand innings with Amelia Kerr, who came in at No. 3, when the latter was handed a lifeline on 13.
Kerr and Devine were going for a second run when Harmanpreet, at long-off, fired a throw to the keeper’s end. Kerr was run out by Richa, while at the same time, the umpire handed back Deepti’s hat at the other end. The umpire deemed the action to be over before the attempted run-out happened, leaving Harmanpreet and the support staff unhappy.
Kerr did not last long after the reprieve as she was caught by Pooja Vastrakar at mid-off off Renuka Singh. However, after Kerr’s departure, Devine took charge and powered NZ to a strong finish along with Brooke Halliday. The duo plundered 46 runs off 4.2 overs on a pitch where stroke-making was far from easy, and it took the game completely away from India.
BRIEF SCORES: New Zealand 160/4 (Sophie Devine 57 not out, Georgia Plimmer 34; Renuka Singh 2/27) bt India 102 in 19 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 15; Rosemary Mair 4/19) by 58 runs.
