The tournament hosts scored a 62-run victory against the Indians to move up to the second spot on the points table.
India Women suffered their first defeat of the ongoing ICC World Cup, as they were comprehensively beaten by a superior New Zealand side won by 62 runs. Spirited performances from Amy Satterthwaite and Lea Tahuhu, as well as a fantastic all-round exhibition courtesy Amelia Kerr gave NZ a comfortable victory over the Indian ladies, who had beaten arch-rivals Pakistan in their opening encounter.
The Kiwis have returned to form with two facile wins after suffering a loss in their opening fixture. They are second on the points table after their victory at Seddon Park, displacing the West Indies, who had beaten them in their first game.
Indian captain Mithali Raj won the toss and decided to put the Kiwis into bat. India did start off well, as Pooja Vastrakar, the star of the previous game, made yet another valuable contribution, running out opener Suzie Bates with a direct hit in the third over.
Captain Sophie Devine and Amelia Kerr did look to steady the ship, and just as things were looking good, Vastrakar got rid of the dangerous New Zealand captain. Satterthwaite was the next in to the middle, and she was undoubtedly the best batter on the field in the entire game. However, New Zealand could not seem to build huge partnerships, as wickets fell as soon as a partnership was taking form.
Kerr departed after scoring a fine 50, as Satterthwaite started to build up her innings. The onus was definitely on her to take her side to a formidable total, and Satterthwaite promptly delivered. She scored an excellent 75 in a knock that included nine boundaries. She was also dismissed by Vastrakar, who was having a top-class day with the ball. Maddy Green and wicket-keeper Katey Martin also added a few valuable runs towards the end as NZ posted a total of 260/9 at the end of their 50 overs.
With a serious challenge ahead of them, it was absolutely imperative for the Indian women to get off to a good start. However, it was anything but for the Indians, as Smrithi Mandhana chipped a tame cover drive straight into Suzie Bates’ hands off Jess Kerr, as the Kiwis got their first breakthrough. Deepti Sharma also trudged back to the pavilion a few minutes later for just five runs as another Indian wicket bit the dust.
Raj and Yastika Bhatia attempted somewhat of a rebuild, but the latter’s circumspect innings also came to an end, as she top-edged a Lea Tahuhu delivery straight to cover. Harmanpreet Kaur, who came into the middle after Bhatia’s dismissal, was India’s most comfortable batter. Kaur was fluent from the beginning and provided some hope to the Indian camp as she and Mithali Raj looked like they could save the day.
However, Amelia Kerr slammed the door firmly shut on any such possibilities, as she got rid of Raj and Richa Ghosh off successive deliveries, leaving India struggling on 97/5.
There was no sign of dew, which was probably the main factor in India’s decision to field first, and the Kiwi women took full advantage of this fact. All the batters around Kaur were dismissed one by one before Kaur herself got out to Amelia Kerr, essentially killing any hopes of an Indian victory. Tahuhu was outstanding, picking up figures of 3/17 in ten overs, at a staggering economy rate of 1.70. The Indian innings folded for 198, and the hosts picked up a comfortable win by 62 runs to climb to second on the table.
Amy Satterthwaite was awarded the player of the match for her crucial innings of 72. India will next take on Windies on March 12, whereas the New Zealanders will go up against the Aussies on March 13.
