By 62 runs, New Zealand’s 260 for 9 (Satterthwaite 75, Kerr 50, Vastrakar 4-34, Gayakwad 2-46) defeated India’s 198 for 9 (Kaur 71, Tahuhu 3-17, Kerr 3-56).
New Zealand have now won two in a row after their opening-day defeat to the West Indies. Their most recent victory, by 62 runs against India in Hamilton, was helped by half-centuries by Amy Satterthwaite and Amelia Kerr.
Amelia also grabbed three wickets with the ball, as did Lea Tahuhu, as India succumbed in 46.4 overs without even daring to bat. Only Harmanpreet Kaur stayed tall in the face of impending doom. She scored a 63-ball 71 before being India’s ninth wicket to fall. When New Zealand beat India 4-1 in a bilateral one-day international series last month, it was the same thing.
As was the case in the last game at the site, a 608-run thriller between Australia and England, Thursday’s new pitch favoured stroke-making. Satterthwaite spearheaded the drive with the bat, contributing two crucial fifty-run partnerships – with Amelia and Maddy Green—and a 49-run fifth-wicket stand with Katey Martin.
India’s choice to bowl – presumably conscious of the dew, which had little effect on the outcome – did not pay off. With the exception of Suzie Bates, New Zealand went 51 for 1 on the powerplay. The former captain, who scored 78 in the last game, got the better of Meghana Singh early on when a thick edge went over the slips.
Three balls later, though, a drop-and-run call by Devine saw non-striker Bates run out for the second time in three innings, courtesy of a magnificent direct smash from cover by Vastrakar.
Captain Sophie Devine then launched a low-risk onslaught, unflinchingly punishing the smallest available breadth and erroneous lengths. She struck two consecutive fours in Meghna’s second over. Two more followed in the next over, this time off Jhulan Goswami.
It was then that Gayakwad came very close to extending the innings when she took Kerr into the sweep when she was on 7. Mastika Bhatia, who replaced Shafali Verma in the XI, missed a difficult chance at deep square leg.
When Satterthwaite entered the fray, New Zealand had just lost the set to Sophie Devine in the 11th over. The hosts then dictated terms with a run-a-ball 67-run third-wicket partnership between her and Amelia. Amelia then scored her first World Cup fifty against India.
Kerr, on the other hand, was quickly captured lbw by Gayakwad. Satterthwaite was then tasked with the task of leading the hosts to a mammoth total. She did what she said she was going to do, delivering a fluent 75 at a level where she usually hits 104.Her nine fours, 31 singles, and four twos all contributed to India’s run–rate being over four for most of her stint in the middle, as they battled to restrict the scoring areas against the left-hander.
Martin’s ideas contributed to New Zealand’s scoring rate remaining high in the first half of the last ten overs. She contributed 49 for the fifth wicket with Satterthwaite as the home side lined themselves up for a 250-plus total.
Vastrakar alternated between exceptional and clumsy fielding, giving a four between her legs and then dropping Martin on 27 after India took an early lead thanks to Bates’ run out. There were many wicket-taking yorkers at the end of her innings. Goswami ended India’s innings with a five-run over in which she bowled Martin to become the joint-highest wicket-taker in the World Cup.
India never looked the part when it came to mounting a fight against New Zealand in the chase. Smriti Mandhana was dismissed early by Jess Kerr due to dot-ball pressure, and the subsequent dismissal of No. 3 Deepti Sharma dismissal resulted in their lowest ODI powerplay total since the start of 2017 (rain-affected matches excluded): 26 for 2. Bhatia’s move to the starting line-up in her World Cup debut also didn’t work out as planned. She could only score a 59-ball 28.
Within 20 overs, India’s top three – all left-handers – were all out; Tahuhu, who was outstanding under lights with her combination of cutters, short balls, and stock deliveries, removed two of them: Deepti and Bhatia. India needs 211 runs from 30 overs under immense strain. Mithali Raj, who was caught on six by Mackay off Tahuhu, and Harmanpreet Kaur halved the gap with a fourth-wicket 47-run partnership.
India had only just started to mount a comeback when Amelia Kerr struck again with a two-wicket third over. Raj was stumped after an orthodox legbreak, while Ghosh lost the top of her off stump to a ripping wrong-un.
Kerr lured five close-in fielders in as part of his hat-trick, but a poor delivery to the under-siege Sneh Rana completed the dramatic over with an anticlimactic four. Tahuhu killed Rana with her last shot of the game, ending the game with a score of 10-2-17-3.
Kaur’s late surge was doomed from the start, as the needed run rate had risen to above 10 by the 37th over. She shared a seventh-wicket partnership of 35 with Goswami, but India’s hopes of a comeback victory were dashed when Amelia had Kaur caught at long-off.
