New Zealand’s captain Sophie Devine celebrates her fifty runs in the course of the ICC Ladies’s T20 World Cup 2024 match between India and New Zealand.
| Photograph Credit score: AP
New Zealand captain Sophie Devine led from the entrance with an unbeaten 57 in her crew’s 58-run win over India of their opening match of the Ladies’s T20 World Cup on Friday.
Devine, who hit seven fours in a late blast, steered New Zealand to 160-4 regardless of a stutter after she had elected to bat first in Dubai.
Medium-pace bowlers Rosemary Mair and Lea Tahuhu then shared seven wickets to bowl out India for 102 in 19 overs to finish New Zealand’s 10-match shedding streak.
“It was powerful work on the market, tempo off and looking for the gaps,” participant of the match Devine mentioned.
“A bit scratchy to begin with. Simply actually comfortable to contribute. We have labored so onerous during the last six months, good to see the crew get their reward.”
New Zealand began strongly with a brisk opening stand of 67 between Suzie Bates, who made 27, and Georgia Plimmer, who hit 34.
Bates survived a reprieve on 18 when wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh dropped a skier because the ball popped out off her gloves off the bowling of Arundhati Reddy.
The bowler lastly had Bates caught at deep mid-wicket in her subsequent over for the primary breakthrough.
Plimmer adopted her opening accomplice three balls later caught off leg-spinner Asha Sobhana.
Controversy erupted when skipper Harmanpreet Kaur ran out Amelia Kerr with a throw from the deep to the wicketkeeper, who whipped the bails off, however the umpire referred to as the batter again as a result of the ball had been ‘useless’.
Kaur remained sad and had a protracted dialogue with the umpires earlier than grudgingly getting again to the sport, however Kerr was out, caught, two balls later within the subsequent over.
Devine stood agency and took the assault to the opposition with common boundaries. She reached her fifty with a 4 as New Zealand hit 37 runs off the final three overs.
The 35-year-old Devine will step down as captain on the finish of the match after enjoying in each World Cup, incomes two runner-up finishes.
India had been by no means within the chase after shedding openers Shafali Verma, for 2, and Smriti Mandhana, for 12, inside the primary 5 overs. Each fell to Eden Carson’s off-spin.
Mair had Kaur lbw for 15 to additional dent the chase and completed off the match with two successive wickets to return figures of 4-19. Tahuhu rattled the middle-order together with Jemimah Rodrigues, Ghosh and Deepti Sharma.
“We did not play our greatest cricket,” mentioned Kaur. “Going ahead we all know each recreation is vital” India will subsequent tackle arch-rivals Pakistan in a blockbuster on Sunday on the identical venue. New Zealand will face Australia in Sharjah on Tuesday.
Revealed – October 05, 2024 03:23 am IST
