The relentless accuracy of bowlers, led by Radha Yadav, drove India to a comfortable 59-run victory over New Zealand in the first women’s ODI in Ahmedabad on Thursday. India now lead the three-match series 1-0, after bowling out the Kiwis for 168 who were chasing a gettable 228. Left-arm spinner Yadav (4/42) was India’s lead act in bowling. Debutant pacer Saima Thakor inflicted the first blow in only the second ball of her international career, removing Suzie Bates (1).
Bates feathered an away-swinger to Yastika Bhatia behind the stumps.
But that was only the beginning as three more wickets fell while New Zealand reached 79, and the dismissal of skipper Sophie Devine was the most bizarre.
Devine forgot to drag her feet back behind the crease as stumper Yastika whipped the bails off after bowler Deepti Sharma threw the ball back to her.
New Zealand briefly raised the vision of a comeback through the fifth-wicket partnership between Brook Halliday (39) and Maddy Green (31) that was worth 49 runs, the highest in their innings.
But Thakor returned to dismiss Halliday to break the growing stand, and thereafter the New Zealand innings never recovered.
Before that, India too endured a stifling batting experience of their own as they failed to counter the wily Kerr sisters – Amelia and Jess – as they were bowled out for a slightly under-par 227 after opting to bat first.
Leg-spinner Amelia (4/42) and medium pacer Jess (3/49) were at the forefront of the Kiwis’ charge with the ball, and they received able support from off-spinner Eden Carson (2/42).
The bane of the Indian innings was the batters’ inability to convert the starts they got.
Deepti Sharma (41), debutant Tejal Hasabnis (42), Shafali Verma (33), Yastika (37) and Jemimah Rodrigues (35) started off the block in fine fashion but were unable to build on.
Hasabnis, in particular, will feel terrible as she was batting so well before getting out to Amelia.
The right-hander danced down the track to the leg-spinner seeing the flight, but she failed to connect with the ball while attempting an almighty heave. Stumper Isabella Gaze did the rest.
The lone bright spots in India’s innings was a 50-plus alliance – a 61 between Rodrigues and Hasabnis for the fifth wicket.
Skipper Smriti Mandhana, who led the side after Harmanpreet Kaur was rested due to a niggle, was dismissed in the third over itself.
She gave a simple catch to Georgia Plimmer off Jess as India could not impart the desired early momentum to their innings.
Subsequently, they struggled for it the rest of the innings but the hosts’ bowler rose the occasion.
