India beat New Zealand by 59 Runs, Saima Thakor and Tejal Hasabnis contribute on their Debut

The Sophie Devine led side are fresh of their maiden T20I World Cup glory, just a few days ago in the UAE. On the other hand, the wounds of getting knocked out in the league stages of the tournament are yet to heal. However, the focus now shifts to the ODIs as the Women in Blue hosts, the White Ferns on their shores for a three-match ODI series from 24th to 29th October 2024.

Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur misses out due to a niggle, Smriti Mandhana to lead.

India’s stand-in skipper Smriti Mandhana in the absence of the regular skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (who is nursing a niggle), won the toss and opted to bat first in the first ODI at the Narendra Modi Stadium. The home side handed debut caps to Tejal Hasabnis and Saima Thakor. India got off to a poor start as they lost the wicket of their stand-in skipper Smriti Mandhana in the 3rd over of the innings.

Wicket-keeper batter Yastika Bhatia joined Shafali Verma at the crease and Shafali Verma led the counter-punch as the pair added 37-runs for the 2nd wicket injecting some sort of a momentum to the innings, taking their side closer to the 50-run mark. The 23-year-old young off-spinner Eden Carson, yet again had the last laugh against S Verma, sending her back to the pavilion to provide the 2nd breakthrough for New Zealand.

Debutant Tejal Hasabnis delivers under pressure.

The home side lost a couple of wickets in quick succession to bring the White Ferns firmly back into the contest. The 27-year-old young debutant Tejal Hasabnis joined Jemimah Rodrigues at the crease and the youngster showed remarkable composure to rebuild the innings alongside the experienced campaigner with a vital 61-run 5th wicket partnership taking their side past the 150-run mark.

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The veteran all-rounder Suzie Bates, rediscovering her lost mojo with the ball in hand, picked up the wicket of Jemimah Rodrigues to provide the much-needed 5th breakthrough for her side. Deepti Sharma joined Tejal Hasabnis at the crease and the duo stitched a 29-run partnership for the 6th wicket to take their side closer to the 200-run mark. A rare rush-of-blood moment for the debutant against the experienced Amelia Kerr ended her stay at the crease providing the White Ferns with the 6th breakthrough.

Arundhati Reddy joined Deepti Sharma at the crease and another crucial 37-run partnership for the 7th wicket took their side past the 200-run mark. Amelia Kerr returned and picked up the wicket of Arundhati Reddy to provide the 7th breakthrough for her side. India were eventually bundled out for 227 with 33 balls to spare. Tejal Hasabnis (42 off 64 balls), Deepti Sharma (41 off 51 balls), wicket-keeper batter Yastika Bhatia (37 off 43 balls), Jemimah Rodrigues (35 off 36 balls), and Shafali Verma (33 off 22 balls) were the top performers with the bat for India.

🇮🇳 INDIA won by 59 Runs in 1st ODI!

They lead the series 1-0.#CricketTwitter #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/rAQUkeDoh9

— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) October 24, 2024

White Ferns need 228, to go 1-0 up in the ODI series.

Amelia Kerr (9-1-42-4), Jess Kerr (8.3-0-49-3), Eden Carson (10-0-42-2), and Suzie Bates (5-0-30-1) were the top performers with the ball for New Zealand. Chasing a target of 228, New Zealand got off to a poor start as they lost the wicket of their opening batter Suzie Bates in the 2nd over of the run chase. Another debutant, Saima Thakor provided the first breakthrough for India.

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Lauren Down joined Georgia Plimmer at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 33-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to take their side closer to the 50-run mark. Deepti Sharma picked up the wicket of Georgia Plimmer to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. The White Ferns lost a couple of wickets in quick succession to bring the home side firmly back into the contest.

Maddy Green joined Brooke Halliday at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 49-run partnership for the 5th wicket to take their side close to the 130-run mark, bringing the deficit down to an exact 100. However, a collapse saw the visitors being wrapped up at 168 with 56 balls to spare. In a dramatic turn of events, the White Ferns lost their last five wickets for just 40 runs, as a result, falling short of the target by 59 runs.

Brooke Halliday (39 off 54 balls), Maddy Green (31 off 32 balls), Lauren Down (26 off 56 balls), Amelia Kerr (25 off 23 balls), and Georgia Plimmer (25 off 25 balls) were the top performers with the bat for New Zealand. Radha Yadav (8.4-0-35-3), Saima Thakor (7-0-26-2), Arundhati Reddy (6-0-21-1), and Deepti Sharma (9-0-35-1) were the top performers with the ball for India.

Deepti Sharma was awarded the Player of the Match for her all-round contributions (41 off 31 balls with the bat, and 9-0-35-1 with the ball).