Women's T20 World Cup 2024: New Zealand hammer India by 58 runs as Harmanpreet's army start on a losing note

It was a losing start for the Indian team in the Women’s T20 World Cup on Friday (Oct 4) after they were beaten by 58runs at the Dubai International Stadium by New Zealand. The defeat comes as a huge setback for the Indian side as they entered the tournament as one of the favourites while also holding the tag of Asian champions. The one-sided defeat now means Pakistan will be above India in the standings as the arch-rivals meet on Sunday in a mouth-watering clash at the same venue.

India lose one-sided contest

Tasked to chase 161 runs to win, the Indian women’s team never got going as they lost wickets at consistent intervals. It took only seven balls for the New Zealand bowlers to get the first wicket of the Indian innings as Shafali Verma was scalped by Eden Carson for 2. Smriti Mandhana (12) and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (15) were also dismissed after poor shot selection as India lost three wickets in the powerplay.

Things only went from bad to worse for the Women in Blue after the powerplay as they were reduced to 55/4 and were quickly 90/8 as they crumbled against a resolute New Zealand bowling attack. In the end, the Indian team could only manage 102 before getting bowled out, thereby losing the match by a big margin of 58 runs.

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Rosemary Mair (19/4) and Lea Tahuhu (15/3) were the pick of the bowlers for New Zealand as inflicted an embarrassing defeat on India in the team’s opening contest.

Earlier, having won the toss New Zealand got off to a good start after they took advantage of sloppy fielding. Openers Suzie Bates (27) and Georgia Plimmer (34) stitched a partnership of 67 runs for the opening wicket before being dismissed in a matter of three balls. Sophie Devine’s 57 and Brooke Halliday’s vital knocks would then propel New Zealand to 160/4 in their 20 overs.

India will now have an important contest in hand against Pakistan on Sunday as a defeat could dent their chances of semifinal qualification.