The Indian women’s team started their T20 World Cup campaign with a 58-run defeat against New Zealand at the Dubai International Stadium, on Friday.
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, the White Ferns posted a match-winning total of 160 in 20 overs, led by their captain Sophie Devine, who scored an unbeaten 57 along with able contributions from the opening pair of Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer.
India never really got going in the run chase, losing Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, and Harmanpreet Kaur inside the powerplay, and that effectively ended any hope of India ever getting a foothold on the run chase.
In the end, they could only manage a paltry 102, losing by 58 runs.
Coming into this game with a 10-match losing streak, New Zealand has shaken off the past and has made a statement here in Dubai tonight.
#5 A great toss to win and a strong powerplay for New Zealand
To start, it was a good toss to win for New Zealand, and skipper Sophie had no hesitation in choosing to bat first.
Her batters responded in kind by showing a very positive intent right from the get-go, putting Indians under a lot of pressure and forcing mistakes out of them.
Dropped catches and misfields were a result of the pressure put by the White Ferns as they raced to 55-0 in the powerplay.
#4 Asha pulls things back but Sophie finishes off in style
The middle overs saw India come back strongly into the game thanks to the brilliance of Asha Shobana, who in her first three overs, gave away just ten runs and took the important wicket of Georgia Plimmer, who scored an excellent 34 from 23 balls (3x4s, 1×6).
As India looked to have gotten control over proceedings, Sophie Devine the skipper took over.
After initially taking her time to settle down, she then broke the shackles, accelerated extremely well at the death, and ensured New Zealand reached a fighting total of 160.
She remained unbeaten on 57 from just 36 balls, hitting seven boundaries. What was even more impressive was her running between wickets as she picked away at the Indian fielders, running twos with ease.
#3 The controversy
The match did have its fair share of controversy when at the end of the 14th over Amelia Kerr was seemingly runout trying to sneak in a second run after Harmanpreet held the ball for too long.
But as Kerr walked off the field, the fourth umpire indicated that the main umpire, Anna Harris, had already declared over when they completed the first run and therefore the ball became dead.
Incidentally, as per the ICC Rulebook, rule 20.1.2 states that a ball shall be considered dead when it is clear to the umpire at the bowler’s end that the fielding side and both batters at the wicket have ceased to regard it as in play.’
Therefore, Kerr should have been considered run out since they tried to go for another run. But the call did not impact the game much since Kerr got dismissed just two balls later.
#2 A tale of two powerplays
If New Zealand’s batting powerplay set the tone for them in reaching a total of 160, their bowling powerplay sealed victory for them.
Conceding just 43 runs in the powerplay, the New Zealand bowlers also managed to pick up the wickets of Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, arguably the three pillars of the Indian batting unit.
With the pillars dismantled, the rest of the building crumbled as the Indian innings never recovered from that, and aided by some questionable shot selection, New Zealand scampered to a victory in the match, winning by 58 runs as India got bowled out for just 102.
The pick of the bowlers for New Zealand was Rosemary Mair, picking up four wickets for just 19 runs in her four overs.
Lea Tahuhu was also brilliant, ending with the figures 3-15 in her quota of four overs.
#1 Where to now, India?
A lot of questions remain unanswered for the women in blue.
Why did India not pick Radha Yadhav, a left-arm spinner who could have been effective against the New Zealand batters, and instead went with two off-spinners Deepti Sharma and Shreyanka Patil?
Why was Pooja Vastrakar, known for her death over bowling not used at all at the death?
She bowled just one over in the entire match, the very first one in the match.
The batting approach was rather strange, to say the least, with the batters seemingly flustered seeing the target and instead of calculating the run chase and choosing the right scoring options, resorted to big-hitting that led to some very ordinary dismissals.
With the game against Pakistan scheduled in just two days, the Indian camp has a lot to think about.