NZW v INDW: Pride at stake for misfiring India in fifth ODI
India will seek to prevent a 5-0 whitewash when it faces New Zealand in the fifth One-Day International in Queenstown on Thursday.
Published : Feb 23, 2022 12:22 IST
India will seek to prevent a 5-0 whitewash when it faces New Zealand in the fifth One-Day International here on Thursday.
The team’s bowling hasn’t been up to the mark in the series, a fact captain Mithali Raj recognised as she looked ahead to this final game and the World Cup. “Definitely have been trying a few combinations with the seam and spin attack. Bowling attack is a concern going into the World Cup. We are adapting to the conditions and to the open ground and the breeze. We have not been very consistent in our bowling spells,” Mithali said.
The Indian team hasn’t performed as a cohesive unit. While the bowlers failed to defend 270-plus targets in two games, the batters were unable to chase 276 and 192 in 20 overs in the fourth ODI. Also, the fielding hasn’t been of top standard.
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With as many as three players in extended Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) for the first half of the tour, India continued to experiment with its line-up. With pressure building up on Harmanpreet Kaur, who managed just 33 runs in the three ODIs and was also expensive with the ball, India left out the vice-captain from the playing XI in the fourth ODI.
Shafali Verma is also yet to fire. The youngster has hit only one half-century in the series and was out on nought in the last game.
The spin department, besides Deepti Sharma, has been inconsistent, while the pace attack has lacked teeth to trouble the opposition batters. Overall, the Indian bowlers have struggled to adapt to the conditions.
In-form Richa Ghosh
The positives for India include teenage wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh’s good form. The 18-year-old scored back-to-back half centuries in the second and fourth ODIs and is India’s second highest run-getter in the tournament behind Mithali. With Richa and the reliable Taniya Bhatia, India has two solid wicketkeeping options heading into the World Cup.
In the absence of Smriti Mandhana, who missed the one-off T20 and three ODIs because of extended MIQ, S. Meghana performed well at the top. Deepti is the series’ leading wicket-taker with eight scalps, while veteran pacer Jhulan Goswami (5), who has played only two games, also figures in the top four.
New Zealand, on the other hand, will be delighted with how the series has panned out. Its top batters have been impressive, with Amelia Kerr and Suzie Bates hitting a hundred each while Amy Satterthwaite has scored two fifties. The lower-order has also shown it can finish games, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat in the third ODI.
The Kerr sisters - Jess (7) and Amelia (6) - have delivered with the with the ball as have pacer Hayley Jensen (5) and skipper Sophie Devine (4).
- India: S. Meghana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Mithali Raj (captain), Harmanpreet Kaur, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Simran Bahadur, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Sneh Rana, Meghna Singh, Taniya Bhatia, Renuka Singh, Smriti Mandhana, Jhulan Goswami.
- New Zealand: Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates, Amelia Kerr, Amy Satterthwaite (c), Maddy Green, Katey Martin (wk), Hayley Jensen, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Fran Jonas, Lea Tahuhu, Lauren Down, Frances Mackay, Hannah Rowe.
- Match starts 3.30 am IST.