Lea Tahuhu’s cameo in death overs and a wicket helped White Ferns win the one-off T20I against India by 18 runs.
The only T20I between New Zealand and India was played at John Davies Oval in Queenstown on Wednesday (February 9). India won the toss and elected to field first.
Sophie Devine and Suzie Bates opened the innings for New Zealand. Devine was dropped by Simran Singh Bahadur in the 2nd over and after getting a life she smashed her for four and two sixes consecutively in the 5th over. By the end of the powerplay, New Zealand was at 49 without losing a wicket.
Nonetheless, Deepti Sharma gave a breakthrough by getting Devine’s wicket at 31 off 23 which included 2 fours and 2 sixes. The opening pair made 60 runs. Rajeshwari Gayakwad managed to get Bates at 36 off 34 in the 12th over.
In absence of Shikha Pandey who was not selected, Pooja Vastrakar stood up and took responsibility. She sent Amelia Kerr back to the pavilion at 17 off 20. Tahuhu made a cameo and played brilliant innings of 27 off 14 which included 4 fours and a six before getting out to Vastrakar. Katey Martin in the last over hit two consecutive fours which helped White Ferns get 155 runs on board. Vastrakar took 2 for 16 in her 4 overs which also included 17 dot balls. Spinner Sharma also took two wickets.
In return, India opened their innings with Shafali Verma and Yastika Bhatia as Indian opener Smriti Mandhana was not available due to the New Zealand government’s managed isolation in Quarantine (MIQ) along with Meghna Singh and Renuka Singh. Bhatia who opened for the first time in T20Is crushed Tahuhu for a six in the 4th over. Shafali also hit two fours off her. By the end of the powerplay, India was at 39 for 0. However, Amelia Kerr who was making her comeback after taking a mental health break sent both the openers back to the pavilion in the same over right after the powerplay.
Jess Kerr took a huge wicket of Captain Harmanpreet Kaur by knocking her off with a beautiful inswinger. After having a wonderful domestic season, Sabbhineni Meghana got an opportunity to play again for India after almost 6 years and she did not disappoint. However, Bates took a wonderful catch off Tahuhu to dismiss her. She scored 37 off 30 which included 6 fours. After her wicket, India kept losing wickets and could not get their momentum back.
Vastrakar and Sneh Rana was India’s last hope but it was Hayley Jensen who sent both the players back to the pavilion in the 19th over. 30 runs were needed in the last over. Bahadur hit two fours before getting out off Jess Kerr. New Zealand defeated India by 18 runs. Kerr sisters and Jensen took two wickets each, Tahuhu and Devine took 1 wicket each. Tahuhu was named as a player of the match for her 27 runs and S Meghana’s wicket.
