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Due to an undisclosed ailment, captain Harmanpreet Kaur was rested for this match.
In the first ODI of the three-match series, India defeated New Zealand after overcoming a “tough” phase, and stand-in captain Smriti Mandhana praised the team’s bowling and fielding efforts. Earlier this month, India’s Women’s T20 World Cup campaign ended in a disaster when they lost to Sophie Devine’s New Zealand by 58 runs, preventing them from making it to the semifinals. New Zealand went on to win the tournament.
But this time, Devine’s team lost to India by 59 runs in the opening ODI series, failing to chase a modest 228.
“It feels good to start with a win because the last one and a half to two months have been difficult. During the post-match presentation, Mandhana, who captained in lieu of Harmanpreet Kaur, stated, “You will not succeed if you do not believe in cricket.”
Due to an undisclosed ailment, Harmanpreet was rested for this game.
The Indian batsmen were bowled out for a below-average 227 in 44.3 overs because they were unable to convert their starts and continued to lose wickets at regular intervals.
“We discussed how we could add 20–30 runs if we fielded well, but we were below average. With Suzie’s wicket, Saima set the tone for us,” Smriti remarked of the rookie seamer, who took 2 for 26.
“She has been with us (for the last few months),” said Saima. We have witnessed her work incredibly hard and she has been brilliant throughout. I am so happy for her, and I hope this is just the beginning,” she continued.
“The team is fantastic; I have been very patient,” Saima said. That is the secret. To be honest, it was a flat wicket. It was a haven for batters. However, as a bowling team, we performed incredibly well, and fortunately, the outcome favoured us. After stepping down the track and tapping the ball back to the bowler, Devine, the captain of New Zealand, who won the T20 World Cup, was bizarrely run out for two.
India made a significant breakthrough when bowler Deepti Sharma threw it to wicketkeeper Yastika Bhatia, who removed the bails with Devine’s foot just outside the crease as the TV umpire confirmed the dismissal, leaving New Zealand at 46/3.
Player-of-the-match Deepti, who hit a 51-ball 41 and returned with 1/35 from nine overs, stated, “I felt throwing it (to Yastika) was a good option because I thought she was outside her crease.”