New Zealand defeated India by 18 runs in the one-off T20 International in Queenstown, New Zealand, on Wednesday.
Lea Tahuhu was the player of the match for a quickfire 27 and a wicket, but it was a combined effort from her team. Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine, Maddy Green, and Tahuhu were among the runs, while Jess Kerr, Amelia Kerr, and Hayley Jensen took two wickets each.
New Zealand posted 155 for 5 after being asked to bat first, opener Bates top-scoring with a 34-ball 36. Medium-pacer Pooja Vastrakar (2 for 16) and off-spinner Deepti Sharma (2 for 26) were the chief wicket-takers for India.
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India stumbled in reply as one by one the batters lost their wickets after getting starts. Middle-order batter S. Meghana top-scored with 37 (30b, 6x4) as India managed to score 137 for 8 in the allotted 20 overs.
PTI adds:
India opener Smriti Mandhana missed the contest as she remained in extended Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ). She is unlikely to be a part of the first ODI later this week. Fast bowlers Meghana Singh and Renuka Singh are also in MIQ. The three players remain in Christchurch.
“Smriti, Meghana Singh and Renuka Singh are in a compulsory MIQ by the New Zealand government,” batter Yastika Bhatia said.
The Indian team had undergone a week of hard quarantine in Mumbai before its departure for New Zealand on January 24. In Mandhana’s absence, Bhatia opened the batting alongside Shafali Verma and was India’s second-highest run-scorer in the game, scoring a run-a-ball 26.
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“There’s a lot of wind so we need to asses the wind and hit out shots accordingly,” Bhatia said.
“The more we hit our shots flatter the better. And we need to time the ball better rather than hitting hard.”
“We need to do well and develop the confidence so that we are well prepared for the World Cup,” she said.
S. Meghana, India’s top scorer, said she played her natural game.
“I was told day before that I was playing so I was prepared. My aim was to play my natural game without taking any pressure. With the form I had in domestic cricket I just wanted to continue with the same confidence,” Meghana said at a press conference after the game.
“I have worked on my batting, I have always been an attacking batter so I worked on being consistent and also on my fitness,” she added.
- New Zealand Women 155 for 5 in 20 overs (Bates 36, Devine 31, Vastrakar 2 for 16, Deepti 2 for 26) beat India Women 137 for 8 in 20 overs (Meghana 37, J. Kerr 2 for 20, A. Kerr 2 for 25)
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