Amelia, Satterthwaite and Tahuhu help New Zealand thrash India

New Zealand continued their dominant run against India into the World Cup 2022 as they completed a 62-run win at the Seddon Park in Hamilton on Thursday (March 10). The White Ferns managed a good score of 260 for nine on the back of fifties from Amy Satterthwaite and Amelia Kerr while India’s run chase became a tough watch in the end. 

Chasing 261, India fell off the rail quite early. Frances Mackay started off innings against the two left-handed openers and managed to keep them quiet. Jess Kerr also bowled tightly and eventually managed to get the wicket of Smriti Mandhana after her six off 21 balls. Yastika Bhatia, on the other hand, who was opening the innings for the first time in international cricket, didn’t get off the screws as well. 

Deepti Sharma, who came in at number three, also struggled and was eventually trapped in front of the stumps off Lea Tahuhu. The right-arm pacer was under a little pressure having been slightly expensive with the ball in the last few matches. However, she brought her A-game against India. In the first three overs, she gave only three runs which kept India under pressure. After 16 overs, India’s score was only 43 for two. 

Bhatia couldn’t find her timing and eventually was gone for 28 off 59 balls in the 20th over. Harmanpreet Kaur joined the skipper Mithali Raj in the middle, who herself was struggling to find her timing in the middle. The stand between her and her deputy didn't put pressure on the opposition as India kept slipping further down the barrel. 

In the 30th over, Amelia struck when Raj tried to step out to her and was stumped. Her knock ended on 31 off 56 balls. Richa Ghosh failed to read a wrong-un off her first ball and was out for a duck. India were 101 for five after 30 overs and were struggling to find their footing.

Sneh Rana, who came in next, managed to bat positively, getting a few boundaries off her cut shots. However, Tahuhu came back to get her wicket with a bouncer as she was gone for 18. Vastrakar was the next to go as India's chances of winning the matches kept decreasing with every over.

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At the other end, Kaur managed to reach her fifty and took on the attack after that. She took Jess for two sixes and two fours in 43th over. Her aggression was short-lived though as the other Kerr sister, Amelia, got the revenge in the next over when she managed to get Kaur caught in the deep for a well-made 71 off 63 balls. Jhulan Goswami hit a few boundaries and so did Meghna Singh but in the end, it was a grim site for the Indians. In the end, they were bowled for 198 in the 47th over.

Earlier in the day, India won the toss and elected to bowl first. Pooja Vastrakar sent Suzie Bates back to the pavilion in the third over with a superb direct hit when the two openers were trying to steal a single. After Bates’ departure, Sophie Devine took the aggressive mode, hitting Singh for back to back boundaries in the fourth over. She repeated the same against Goswami in the very next over. 

Devine’s proactive approach kept India guessing but right after the power play, Vastrakar got the better of her. Devine tried to cut a ball too close to her and only managed to edge to the keeper Ghosh and was gone for only 35 off 31 balls. Amelia, with whom she had built a good partnership, carried the innings after her departure while Satterthwaite joined her in the middle. 

Amelia, who had a terrific run against India in the recent bilateral series, continued her form playing the spinners well. Satterthwaite, on the other hand, had struggled against West Indies, but a small adjustment in approach saw her turn up with a much-improved batting display against the Indian spinners, something which was reminiscent of her play against them in that series. 

The duo put on a stand of 67 runs off 11 overs, making sure New Zealand didn’t lose the momentum despite the loss of two top-order batters. Amelia was dismissed right after she got to her fifty, when she tried to sweep a Rajeshwari Gayakwad delivery and failed to put bat on ball. Upon DRS being called on, it was seen that the ball was crashing on the stumps.

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Maddy Green, who came in next started slow but got on the act when she hit Goswami for two fours in the 26th over. Satterthwaite was building her knock, rotating the strike quite well in the process and managing a boundary here and there. She reached her half-century in the 33th over with New Zealand’s score at 175 for 3. 

Green tried to go downtown and managed to hold on to Smriti Mandhana at long-on off the bowling of Sharma and was dismissed for 27 off 36. The Indian bowlers then tightened their grip on the innings with some frugal overs which halted the rate at which the hosts could have gone. In the 40th over, Satterthwaite took charge and got three boundaries off Sharma to help New Zealand get a move-on. 

However, a couple of overs later, Vastrakar got Satterthwaite caught at mid-wicket and she was gone for 75 off 84 balls. Katey Martin was playing a good knock at the other end trying to keep New Zealand afloat. Gayakwad got the wicket of Hayley Jensen in the 46th over after tying her down in the previous over for just one. In the very next over, Vastrakar got back-to-back yorkers jammed in, bowling Tahuhu and Jess.

Goswami got the wicket of Martin for 41 eventually in the last over with another yorker. However, her knock helped New Zealand take their score to 260. Vastrakar finished with the best figures in the India side with her ten overs going for just 34 runs while also picking up four wickets. 

Brief scores: New Zealand 260 for 9 in 50 overs (Amy Satterthwaite 75, Amelia Kerr 50; Pooja Vastrakar 4/34) beat India 198/10 in 46.4 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 71; Amelia Kerr 3/56, Lea Tahuhu 3/17) by 62 runs. POTM: Amy Satterthwaite