New Zealand Dominates India by 58 Runs with Captain's Stellar Performance, Divine Intervention

On a pitch that was extremely difficult for batting, Devine's power-packed unbeaten 57 off 36 balls took New Zealand to an above-par 160 for 4 in 20 overs. The 35-year-old Kiwi legend then used her slow bowlers to first choke the 'Women in Blue' and then asked her seamers to take pace off deliveries, blowing the opposition for a meagre 102 in 19 overs.

India were thoroughly out of sorts on Friday as opposition skipper Sophie Devine used her flair to make game-changing runs and tactical acumen to put her team in complete control as New Zealand whipped them 58-run in a lopsided Women's T20 World Cup game here. The 'White Ferns' also ended their losing streak of 10 games in a row and registered their biggest win ever against India in T20Is.

On a pitch that was extremely difficult for batting, Devine's power-packed unbeaten 57 off 36 balls took New Zealand to an above-par 160 for 4 in 20 overs. The 35-year-old Kiwi legend then used her slow bowlers to first choke the 'Women in Blue' and then asked her seamers to take pace off deliveries, blowing the opposition for a meagre 102 in 19 overs.

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The two teams basically differed in muscle power-a basic necessity for playing on such pitches that Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer of New Zealand possessed, and the rest of their openers did too. For India, most of their batsmen did not have enough brawn to clear even the 30-yard circle.

The game was virtually won and lost in the Powerplay. Bates (27 off 24 balls) and young Plimmer (34 off 23 balls) added 55 in the first six overs, while India lost their three potential game-changers, Shafali Verma (2), Smriti Mandhana (12), and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (15) in the Powerplay for only 43 runs.

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The good thing about Devine was that the batter in her knew what the skipper needed to do. She started off with left-arm spinner Eden Carson (2/34 in 4 overs) from one end, and Shafali, who never seems at ease if pace is taken off deliveries, closed her bat face and lobbed an easy return catch to the bowler.

Mandhana, India's best and most consistent batter over the past few years also tried to get going but was holed out in the deep, while seamer Rosemary Mair bowled one that swung in to hit Harmanpreet on the pads. Such was the slowness that even Lea Tahuhu (3/15 in 4 overs) had Jemimah Rodrigues trying to chip it over mid-on, but the stroke lacked power, and Richa Ghosh chipped one to mid-off as the Indian challenge fizzled out in a jiffy.

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EARLIER, on a tacky track that made stroke-making a chore, Devine muscled her way with seven boundaries as most Indian bowlers, sans Deepti Sharma (0/45 in 4 overs), used the tackiness of the track to good effect for the better part of the innings. Devine, who kept dropping herself in the batting order, showed excellent footwork to dismantle the lengths produced by Indian bowlers with the standout shot being a bent-on-knee cover drive off Shreyanka Patil to complete her fifty.

Poor ground fielding of India, barring Rodrigues, was what stuck out as sore thumbs. Veteran Bates and young Plimmer rode their luck and some shoddy fielding from India to race to 55 at the end of the Powerplay. However, once leg-spinner Asha Sobhana (1/22 in 4 overs) started operating just after Powerplay, she immediately put the brakes on, but once Devine started chancing her arms at the death, Indian bowlers were left with little option.

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Read also| Buttler Makes Comeback as England Selects Three Uncapped Players for West Indies White-Ball Tour

Read also| India Secures Top Position in WTC Table Following Series Victory Against Bangladesh

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