With Australia also in Group A, the crushing defeat to New Zealand could make India's passage to semi-finals difficult at Women's T20 World Cup 2024. Catch the highlights and play-by-play updates from the IND-W vs NZ-W match
India's opening Women's T20 World Cup fixture will commence at 7:30pm IST, with the toss scheduled for 7pm IST. The match will be broadcast on the Star Sports Network in India, and will be live-streamed on the Disney+Hotstar app and website in India. This will be India's first T20I appearance since the Asia Cup final loss to Sri Lanka in Dambulla on July 28. (Scorecard | More Cricket News)
India have won four of their last five T20 international encounters, with the only loss coming in the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka. New Zealand, on the other hand, are in a rut and have lost 10 back-to-back games. They need a win tonight to regain their confidence but it won't be easy against a power-packed Indian side.
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur has lost the toss and been asked to field first by New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine.
India Women: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh(w), Deepti Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana, Renuka Thakur Singh.
New Zealand Women: Suzie Bates, Georgia Plimmer, Amelia Kerr, Sophie Devine(c), Brooke Halliday, Maddy Green, Isabella Gaze(w), Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Lea Tahuhu, Eden Carson.
Harmanpreet Kaur: We just want to go out there and play good cricket. All the players back themselves. It's the best team and the best team we have in this format. We have a balanced side. We have a long batting line-up as well. It's all about going out there and enjoying ourselves.
Sophie Devine: I've been really happy about the way the team's gone about its business. Results haven't gone our way but we're always learning. Looking to put our best foot forward in this one. It's going to be slower, there's still runs in it. Still opportunity to be attacking.
Play begins in Dubai and Suzie Bates belts Pooja Vastrakar for a four off the very first ball with a dismissive pull. She follows it up with another boundary off the third ball, this time charging down the track and driving with elan to beat the diving mid-off. New Zealand off to a good start.
It has been a blazing start from the White Ferns openers. Suzie Bates began the onslaught in the first over, and Georgia Plimmer has followed suit from the other end. India have been sloppy in the field too, with Renuka Thakur letting one slip through the legs at the square leg fence and 'keeper Richa Ghosh dropping a swirling but regulation skier to let Bates off. The team fifty comes up for New Zealand in the sixth over, and India badly need a wicket or a quiet couple of overs here.
India finally get the much-needed breakthrough, and one leads to two. Arundhati Reddy's full delivery is lofted towards deep midwicket by Suzie Bates, but she picks out Shreyanka Patil there who makes no mistake. Leggie Asha Sobhana then dislodges the other opener Georgia Plimmer in the ninth over, having her caught by Smriti Mandhana at long on. The momentum swings India's way; can they take charge now?
As mentioned by the on-air commentators as well, New Zealand have altered their T20I strategy tonight. They are going with a much more aggressive and unfettered approach with the bat, and reaping the rewards too so far. Despite the loss of both openers in quick succession, the White Ferns' run rate hasn't fallen too much. Kiwi skipper Sophie Devine has walked in and propped up the tempo with some sublime hits and hard running between the wickets. India need to see her back soon to regain ascendancy.
It's all happening in Dubai. First, Amelie Kerr and Sophie Devine try to steal a second run with the ball in Harmanpreet Kaur's hand in the outfield at the end of the 14th over. The Indian captain throws the ball at the keeper's end and Richa Ghosh takes off the bails to find Kerr short of her ground. But umpire Jacqueline Williams is tying her laces and deems it a dead ball. Harmanpreet is not impressed, and a lengthy debate follows. The decision stays, however.
Luckily for India, they don't lose much from it as Kerr is caught at cover in the very next over. Meanwhile, Devine is still going strong and looking dangerous now alongside new batter Brooke Halliday, who is growing in confidence too.
Captain Devine stays there right till the end, getting past the 50-run mark with a boundary in the final over and propelling the Kiwis to a daunting 160-run total. India will need to score at over eight runs an over to prevail, which is not going to be an easy task by any stretch of imagination. Stay with us, as we come back for the Indian chase.
Just like Suzie Bates did for New Zealand, star India opener Smriti Mandhana gets the innings underway with a boundary. The southpaw neatly dispatches a short ball to the square-leg fence to get India underway. Mandhana and Shafali Verma will need to provide a sound launching pad, if India are to chase this 161-run target down.
India needed at least one of their top three to play a big one, but that hasn't happened. Shafali Verma mistimes a flick to offer an easy return catch to Eden Carson in the second over. Carson also sends back big fish Mandhana, who holes out to long on. To compound India's woes, their skipper Harmanpreet Kaur is trapped in front by Rosemary Mair. The Women In Blue are in a spot of bother now, and would need a special knock from Richa Ghosh or Jemimah Rodrigues to pull this off.
New Zealand are all over India. After dislodging Shafali, Smriti and Harmanpreet cheaply, the White Ferns also get rid of Jemimah Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh. And with that, India's chances of forcing an unlikely win are well nigh dashed.
Could the day get any worse for India? Wickets continue to tumble, and the asking rate escalates to over 20 runs an over. Harmanpreet Kaur's side are now eight down and are purely trying to reduce the extent of damage, especially considering how important the net run rate could be in latter stages of the group phase. Shreyanka Patil and Asha Sobhana are at the crease with the result a foregone conclusion.
The abject surrender is complete. Shreyanka Patil and Renuka Thakur are dismissed off back-to-back deliveries as India fold for 102 runs in 19 overs. With that, they suffer a 58-run wallopping, New Zealand's biggest margin of victory against India in women's T20Is. The win also snaps the White Ferns' 10-match losing streak in the format. And what a way to do it. As for India, a simply disastrous day in office.
As Group A is the trickier one and features Australia, the loss to New Zealand could have major implications for India's semi-final chances. Two teams go through from each five-member group and given New Zealand's performance tonight, India must win their games against Pakistan and Sri Lanka at the very least if they are to stand a chance of making the last four. Even that might not be enough, especially considering the massive loss margin and the resultant hit to net run rate for Harmanpreet's side. For now, it's back to the drawing room for them before the much-awaited clash against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday (October 6).