Ahmedabad: New Zealand-W defeat India-W by 76 runs in the second One Day International to tie the three-game bilateral series 1-1 at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Suzie Bates, Georgia Plimmer, skipper Sophie Devine, and Maddy Green all contributed with the bat to set India a daunting target of 260. Early dismissals and regular breakthroughs forced India to play on the back foot. A late ninth-wicket partnership between Radha Yadav and Saima Thakor saved the hosts from a huge deficit defeat.
New Zealand set India a challenging target in the first innings after posting an impressive total of 259/9 on a pitch that offered assistance to spinners. The foundation was laid by Bates and Plimmer, who shared an 87-run opening partnership before Deepti broke through to give India their first breakthrough. Bates went on to score a valuable fifty, though India managed to claw back by claiming three quick wickets for 41 runs. Devine powered up with aggressive strokes and built a strong 82-run stand with Green, who blasted four boundaries in five balls before being dismissed.
Radha Yadav was India’s best performer not only with the ball in hand but also in the field. She ended the innings with four wickets to her name including the important scalps of Bates, Devine and Green. Alongside her impressive bowling figures, she also took three catches which included a brilliant diving effort to remove Halliday.
The Kiwis struck early and removed Smriti Mandhana in the first over when she was caught off Lea Tahuhu’s delivery. Shafali Varma and Yastika Bhatia’s scalps soon followed as the duo were dismissed in the fourth and fifth over respectively. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (24) and Jemimiah Rodrigues (17) attempts of bringing the innings back on track were foiled by Sophie who claimed both wickets.
India were struggling at 108/8 when Radha and Saima combined for 70 runs before the latter was caught trying to match the ever growing run rate. Devine rounded the game up by dismissing Radha in the 48th over of the game and took the victory.
The series decider will be played on Tuesday at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
“I think we gave away too many runs and dropped too many catches but I think it was still a chaseable target but we didn’t bat well. Good to see Radha and Saima do well with bat. We kept losing wickets in the chase. We will look to build partnerships in the next game. We weren’t up to the mark. These girls look ready and keen to do well for the country. Batting is something that we really need to work on and if we do that we can win the series,” said India skipper Harmanpreet in the post-game interview.
Brief Scores: NZ-W 259/5 (Sophie Devine 79, Suzie Bates 58; Radha Yadav) defeated Ind-W 183/10 (Radha Yadav 48; Sophie Devine 3/27, Lea Tahuhu 3/42) by 76-runs.
(IANS)
