The 18 Run Loss Suffered By The Indian Women’s Team In a One-Off T20 International

During the one-off women’s T20 Global here on Wednesday, Indian batting let them down, as hosts New Zealand by 18 runs defeated them. Smriti Mandhana, vice-captain and senior opener of India, didn’t play, and her omission was evident as India failed 18 runs short of their target of 156. Rookie Yastika Bhatia, who opened alongside youthful Shafali Verma instead of Mandhana, did quite well with a run-a-ball 26 (2×4; 1×6), although India never seemed as though they could track down the goal against a formidable New Zealand bowling attack. The inaugural stand, which lasted 6.3 overs and scored 41 runs, became India’s highest partnership. Shafali isn’t at her peak as she provided just 13 runs off 14 balls.

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who scored 12 out of 13 balls, also appeared to be out of sorts. The lower order then was expected to make a drive for the target. Sabbhineni Meghana, the highest scorer of India, played brilliantly with a 30-ball 37 that included six fours, adding 34 runs for the 4th wicket with Richa Gosh (12). This stand was the final ray of hope for India, as once Meghana was dismissed, the visitors’ batting collapsed, and they could only manage 137 for 8 within their allocated 20 overs. Whenever Meghana was dismissed, India required 55 runs in 5.1 overs, a tall order for the lower order.

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New Zealand’s Amelia Kerr, Jess Kerr, and Hayley Jensen each claimed two wickets, whilst Lea Tahuhu & Sophie Devine, respectively took one. Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar, both veteran all-rounders, took two wickets each to assist India in limiting New Zealand to 155 for 5 post-Harmanpreet won the toss and chose to play.

Just at the time, Devine was on number one. The New Zealand skipper welcomed the respite by hitting Simran for 2 sixes within the fifth over, which resulted in the home side scoring 20 runs. The Indian bowlers grabbed wickets at periodic intervals, but they could not prevent the hosts from reaching 150 runs. This Saturday, the two teams will begin their five-match One-Day International series.