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Pratika Rawal punished the full and the short balls towards mid-wicket (Express photo by Narendra Vaskar)
They say in sports, there is no such thing as a perfect game. But, under immense pressure after three straight defeats, India produced a near-perfect performance, beating New Zealand by 53 runs via the DLS method at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai to seal their place in the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup. The win was set up by centuries by Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal, followed by a sensational cameo by Jemimah Rodrigues, brought back into the XI and promoted to No 3.
New Zealand captain Sophie Devine’s decision to put India into bat backfired as the hosts’ opening duo of Mandhana and Rawal made the most of an excellent batting surface and a bowling attack that lost its bite after the Powerplay. After reaching 40/0 after 10 overs, the duo got stuck into the New Zealand bowling attack on a lifeless pitch. The pair was helped by some inconsistent bowling and defensive field placements.
At no stage when the spinners were on did Devine ever keep a slip to try and create pressure on the batters. Additionally, there was also a cover fielder placed for almost the duration of the innings. But with the White Ferns’ bowlers tending to bowl straighter lines, that fielder never came into play.
Indian openers made the most of the straighter lines bowled at them, peppering the on-side to great effect to force Devine into putting her thinking cap on. After a slow start, they combined caution with aggression to lay the foundation for a massive score.
The pair took a liking towards the on-side, with Mandhana targeting the mid-on boundary off the spinners while Rawal punished the full and the short balls towards mid-wicket. Mandhana got to her hundred in the 31st over with a single off Bates, but fell soon for 109 in pursuit of quick runs, ending a 212-run stand. Rawal, too, got to her hundred a few overs later – her first in World Cups.
The final spark to the innings was provided by Rodrigues, whose unbeaten 76 off 55 balls with 11 fours gave a solid impetus to the innings. If the opening pair put on an exhibition in leg-side play, then Rodrigues produced an off-side masterclass. The right-hander used the arc between cover and mid-off expertly, going over the top more than once to turbocharge the innings. When the situation demanded, she also used the paddle sweep and the reverse sweep to play around the field.
At 329/2 in 48 overs, however, the heavens opened up and caused a 90-minute delay in proceedings. When play resumed at 7:50 pm, the game was reduced to 49 overs per side, and India managed to get 11 runs in the last over.
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Chasing 325 runs in 44 overs, New Zealand were dented early when they lost Suzie Bates in the second over, after Kranti Gaud induced a false shot and was caught by Pratika Rawal. But the bigger dents were caused at the other end.
Renuka Singh Thakur, who did not bowl at training one day before the game, looked in good rhythm at the start of the innings, giving away only three runs in three overs. However, her bigger contribution came a few overs later when she removed Georgia Plimmer for 30 in the ninth over, before dismissing captain Sophie Devine cheaply for six runs in the 12th over. Amelia Kerr looked solid for the first time in the tournament, but with the asking rate climbing and India showing discipline with the ball and in the field, she fell for 45 off 53 balls to put India in the ascendancy.
If India thought they had the match well and truly in the bag, then Brooke Halliday ensured that wasn’t the case. Her 81 off 84 balls, where she combined with Isabelle Gaze to put on 72 runs for the sixth wicket, was the only substantial stand of the innings, which gave the White Ferns a glimmer of hope. But when the southpaw departed with her side still needing 109 runs, the curtains came down with her in New Zealand’s chances of winning and staying alive for a semi-final berth.
Brief scores: India 340/3 in 49 overs(Rawal 122, Mandhana 109, Rodrigues 76 not out) beat New Zealand 271/8 in 44 overs (Halliday 81, Gaze 65; Renuka Singh 2/25) by 53 runs (DLS method)
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