Coming out to bat when the host New Zealand were 3 wickets down with just 55 onboard in their chase of India’s highest total against them, 270 runs during the 2nd ODI of their bilateral series, the young talent Amelia Kerr took up the responsibility of taking the White Ferns 2-0 up in the 5-match series.
The match that saw momentum-shifting throughout, witnessed 128 runs stand for the fourth wicket between Kerr and Maddy Green before Green was caught by Yastika Bhatia off Poonam Yadav’s delivery but not before both of them smashed their 3rd ODI half-centuries. Though a couple of wickets after that raised hope for India but the 21 years old was unstoppable till the end as she smashed her 2nd ODI century that came off 125 balls, ending with a match-winning knock of unbeaten 119 (7 4s) from 135 balls with the strike rate of 88.15 alongside her sister Jess Kerr who hit the winning runs. Returning to cricket after a gap of around 10 months citing mental well-being, Kerr’s century was her first one in New Zealand after she struck a double century (232*) against Ireland back in 2018.
119 Unbeaten!
Amelia Kerr scored her 2nd ODI Century, her 1st at home and won the game for NZ ❤️#NZvIND pic.twitter.com/IPBQis0rBk
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) February 15, 2022
All-rounder Kerr also made opener Sabbhineni Meghana wait for more for her maiden ODI half-century as she bowled and caught her just 1 run short of it, finishing her 8 overs bowling spell conceding 43 runs.
Being played at the John Davies Oval, Queenstown, the match saw Four 50+ scores, two each for both the teams but the applaudable performance by Amelia Kerr was the highlight as New Zealand clinched the victory by 3 wickets which at one stage looked difficult.
With an aim to seal the series, the White Ferns would be active for the 3rd ODI on Friday, February 18, while Mithali Raj led India who also displayed an amazing performance today would be looking towards analyzing the few areas that cost them the game and come back stronger to keep the series hope alive.
Author of the poetry book ‘The Scent of Rhythm’, I am a passionate writer and a Sports enthusiast who writes on Cricket and plays Badminton.
