New Zealand began their women’s T20 World Cup with a 58-run victory over pre-tournament favorites India, snapping a ten-match losing record in T20Is. Sophie Devine’s undefeated 57 off 36, following a flying start from openers Georgia Plimmer and Suzie Bates. This helped New Zealand reach 160 for 4, which proved much too much for India.
India’s batters could not cope with the New Zealand pace attack, which featured Rosemary Mair with four wickets and Lea Tahuhu with three. Eden Carson, however, set the tone by replacing openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana early on. Harmanpreet Kaur, at No. 3 for the first time in 18 months, fell for a 14-ball 15. During the powerplay, India’s chase got tough, as they lost six wickets for 60 runs before being dismissed for 102 in 19 overs.
New Zealand’s Strong Powerplay
Suzie Bates demonstrated New Zealand’s purpose early on, pulling the first ball of the session to deep square leg for four. But she stepped down the track as early as the third delivery for a smash past mid-off for her second four, all from Pooja Vastrakar. Plimmer, who recently scored her first T20I fifty against Australia, also unsettled Deepti Sharma in the third over. This featured a six as she descended the track and lofted one over long-on. They also profited from India’s sloppy fielding, with Richa Ghosh dropping Bates. She hit a top edge to the keeper in the powerplay’s last over. The duo helped the team reach 50 in 34 balls.
Both blasted five fours and a six to close the powerplay on 55 without losing a wicket, laying the basis for a competitive total. After giving up 55 runs in the powerplay, India clawed their way back into the game in the middle overs. But they couldn’t keep Devine quiet. Between the past World Cup and this one, she batted largely at No. 4 (except for two games). After batting at the top of the order from 2017 to early 2023, she provided power to the middle order. However, Devine has had little success this year, averaging 21.25 in nine innings with only two half-centuries.
India’s Batting Struggles
For the first time in a T20I, India included three fast bowlers in its XI this year: Vastrakar, Renuka, and Reddy. Radha Yadav, India’s second-best bowler by wickets this year, was left out to make room for an extra seamer. Harmanpreet was upgraded to No. 3 due to the six-bowler plan, with Jemimah Rodrigues and Ghosh ranked fourth and fifth, respectively.
However, playing with one fewer hitter did not benefit India on a day when their batting lineup struggled. Chasing a competitive 161, India lost their top three in the powerplay, and the middle order struggled against Tahuhu’s hard lengths before Mair’s swing hampered the lower order. Deepti made 13 out of 18 balls, while Ghosh used 19 to make 12. Harmanpreet‘s 15 remained the highest score.
Bottom Line
This was the tournament’s first game for both India and New Zealand, who were joined in Group A by defending champions Australia, Asia Cup winners Sri Lanka, and opening-day winners Pakistan. Neither team has ever won a Women’s T20 World Cup, but both have reached the final in the past, with New Zealand finishing second in 2009 and 2010 and India losing in the 2020 final.
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