India atop the points table in the ongoing premier tournament and will face fourth-positioned New Zealand in the semi-final, which is scheduled to take place on July 9.

India team better equipped to play under pressure, says Virat Kohli ahead of semi-final tie

Skipper Mithali Raj slammed a century before left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad returned with a five-wicket haul as India crushed New Zealand by 186 runs to storm into the semifinals of the ICC Women&#39;s World Cup in Derby on Saturday. (<a href="http://http://www.wionews.com/photos/india-vs-new-zealand-best-moments-from-womens-world-cup-364">In pics:&nbsp;India vs New Zealand: Best moments from Women&#39;s World Cup</a>)

Put into bat, India recovered from an early wobble to score a challenging 265/7 in their final league match, riding on a 132-run stand between Mithali (109) and Harmanpreet Kaur (60) and a quickfire 70 by Veda Krishnamurthy.

India then produced a superb bowling display to dismiss the Kiwis for 79 in just 25.3 overs. Left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad (5/15) was the peak of the bowlers with her five-wicket haul, while Deepti Sharma (2/26) scalped two and Jhulan Goswami (1/14), Shikha Pandey (1/12) and Poonam Yadav (1/12) picked one each respectively. (<a href="http://http://www.wionews.com/photos/an-insider-to-the-indian-womens-cricket-team-325#photo-21339">In Pics: Meet the Indian women&#39;s World Cup team which beat Pakistan</a>)&nbsp;

<a href="http://http://www.wionews.com/cricket/indian-womens-cricket-captain-mithali-raj-makes-history-becomes-highest-run-getter-in-limited-overs-format-17864">Highest run-scorer in women&#39;s ODI cricket, Mithali Raj</a> once aspired to be a dancer. 
 
Chasing 266 for a win, New Zealand lost two early wickets with both openers Suzie Bates (1) and Rachel Priest (5) back in the hut in 3 overs. At 7 for 2, Katey Martin (12) joined Amy Satterthwaite but the former was dismissed by spinner Deepti Sharma in her first over as New Zealand were reduced to 27/3 in the 11th over. Satterthwaite was then dismissed in the 18th over with Sushma Verma producing a brilliant stumping off Rajeshwari Gayakwad&#39;s bowling. The Kiwi&#39;s 47-ball 26-run inings included four boundaries. Katie Perkins (1) too was sent back quickly with Sharma cleaning her up as New Zealand lost half their side for 52/5 in the 19th over.

Gayakwad then dealt two more quick blows, removing Sophie Devine (7) and Hannah Rowe (4) as New Zealand were looking down the barrel at 62/7 in 21.5 overs. In the next over, Maddy Green was dismissed by Poonam Yadav, while Lea Tahuhu became the fourth victim of Gayakwad, who also cleaned up last batswoman Leigh Kasperek (0) to complete her five-wicket haul. Earlier, India were reduced to 21 for 2 in the eighth over but a 132-run stand between Mithali (109) and Harmanpreet Kaur (60) for the third wicket brought them back into the match. A brilliant quick-fire 70 off just 45 balls from Krishnamurthy, studded with seven fours and two sixes, then took India past 260.

However, the highlight of the virtual knock-out match was Mithali&#39;s sixth ton in her 184th match and her 109 came from 123 balls and had 11 fours in it. Mithali, who in the earlier match against Australia became the highest run-getter in ODIs and first batswoman to reach 6000 runs, continued with her purple patch in the tournament. She has already hit three half centuries and a 46 not out, besides today&#39;s ton, from the seven matches she has played so far. Coming in the eighth over at the team score of 21-2 at the fall of opener Smriti Mandhana (13), Mithali anchored the Indian innings magnificently. She first steadied the Indian innings with Harmanpreet after the initial loss of two wickets and then took her side to an advantageous position before being dismissed in the final over.

She found an able ally in Harmanpreet, who made a crucial contribution despite her slow batting. Harmanpreet consumed 90 balls for her 60 and hit seven fours. India were going strong at 152 for 2 in the 36th over but New Zealand struck back with two quick wickets -- Harmanpreet and Deepti Sharma (0) -- but that did not bother them. Krishnamurthy was there to give impetus to the Indian innings towards the close and she was by far the most aggressive batswomen as she was always looking for big shots.

She was out in the penultimate delivery. In fact, India lost three wickets in the final over, in the space of four deliveries, for eight runs. For New Zealand, off-spinner Leigh Kasperek, who first used the new ball, was the most successful bowler with three wickets while pacers Hannah Rowe and Lea Tahuhu took two and one wicket respectively.

India crushed New Zealand by 186 runs to reach the semifinals

Skipper Mithali Raj slammed a century before left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad returned with a five-wicket haul as India crushed New Zealand by 186 runs to storm into the semifinals of the ICC Women's World Cup in Derby on Saturday. (In pics: India vs New Zealand: Best moments from Women's World Cup) Put into bat, India recovered from an early wobble to score a challenging 265/7 in their final league match, riding on a 132-run stand between Mithali (109) and Harmanpreet Kaur (60) and a quickfire 70 by Veda Krishnamurthy. India then produced a superb bowling display to dismiss the Kiwis for 79 in just 25.3 overs. Left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad (5/15) was the peak of the bowlers with her five-wicket haul, while Deepti Sharma (2/26) scalped two and Jhulan Goswami (1/14), Shikha Pandey (1/12) and Poonam Yadav (1/12) picked one each respectively. (In Pics: Meet the Indian women's World Cup team which beat Pakistan) Highest run-scorer in women's ODI cricket, Mithali Raj once aspired to be a dancer. Chasing 266 for a win, New Zealand lost two early wickets with both openers Suzie Bates (1) and Rachel Priest (5) back in the hut in 3 overs. At 7 for 2, Katey Martin (12) joined Amy Satterthwaite but the former was dismissed by spinner Deepti Sharma in her first over as New Zealand were reduced to 27/3 in the 11th over. Satterthwaite was then dismissed in the 18th over with Sushma Verma producing a brilliant stumping off Rajeshwari Gayakwad's bowling. The Kiwi's 47-ball 26-run inings included four boundaries. Katie Perkins (1) too was sent back quickly with Sharma cleaning her up as New Zealand lost half their side for 52/5 in the 19th over. Gayakwad then dealt two more quick blows, removing Sophie Devine (7) and Hannah Rowe (4) as New Zealand were looking down the barrel at 62/7 in 21.5 overs. In the next over, Maddy Green was dismissed by Poonam Yadav, while Lea Tahuhu became the fourth victim of Gayakwad, who also cleaned up last batswoman Leigh Kasperek (0) to complete her five-wicket haul. Earlier, India were reduced to 21 for 2 in the eighth over but a 132-run stand between Mithali (109) and Harmanpreet Kaur (60) for the third wicket brought them back into the match. A brilliant quick-fire 70 off just 45 balls from Krishnamurthy, studded with seven fours and two sixes, then took India past 260. However, the highlight of the virtual knock-out match was Mithali's sixth ton in her 184th match and her 109 came from 123 balls and had 11 fours in it. Mithali, who in the earlier match against Australia became the highest run-getter in ODIs and first batswoman to reach 6000 runs, continued with her purple patch in the tournament. She has already hit three half centuries and a 46 not out, besides today's ton, from the seven matches she has played so far. Coming in the eighth over at the team score of 21-2 at the fall of opener Smriti Mandhana (13), Mithali anchored the Indian innings magnificently. She first steadied the Indian innings with Harmanpreet after the initial loss of two wickets and then took her side to an advantageous position before being dismissed in the final over. She found an able ally in Harmanpreet, who made a crucial contribution despite her slow batting. Harmanpreet consumed 90 balls for her 60 and hit seven fours. India were going strong at 152 for 2 in the 36th over but New Zealand struck back with two quick wickets -- Harmanpreet and Deepti Sharma (0) -- but that did not bother them. Krishnamurthy was there to give impetus to the Indian innings towards the close and she was by far the most aggressive batswomen as she was always looking for big shots. She was out in the penultimate delivery. In fact, India lost three wickets in the final over, in the space of four deliveries, for eight runs. For New Zealand, off-spinner Leigh Kasperek, who first used the new ball, was the most successful bowler with three wickets while pacers Hannah Rowe and Lea Tahuhu took two and one wicket respectively.

Women's World Cup: India beat New Zealand, storm into semi-finals

Indian pacers led by debutante Hardik Pandya and Umesh Yadav snared five top-order New Zealand&nbsp;wickets between themselves to set up the game for their batsmen in the first one day international of the series.

India, needing 191 to win the match, rode on Virat Kohli&#39;s 85 and a quickfire 33 from Ajinkya Rahane to chase&nbsp;down the total comfortably in the 32nd over.

Winning the toss and choosing to bowl, India reduced New Zealand to 75 for six before opener Tom Latham and lower-order batsman Tim Southee forged a battling 71-run partnership to give their team a semblance of a chance.

Opener Latham, 79 not out,&nbsp;was the star for the visitors as he became just the tenth man to carry&nbsp;his bat in an ODI innings.&nbsp;

When India began their chase, barring Rohit Sharma dismissal early on, the result never seemed to be in doubt as Rahane and Kohli motored along.

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was back leading India&#39;s ODI team, also looked good in his knock of 21 before he was run out due to a misunderstanding with Kohli.&nbsp;

India lead the five-match series 1-0 with the next game in Delhi on October 20.

(WION with inputs from AFP)

Indian pacers Hardik Pandya and Umesh Yadav shared five wickets in their opening spell to expose Kiwis' lower order batsmen before 20th over

Indian pacers led by debutante Hardik Pandya and Umesh Yadav snared five top-order New Zealand wickets between themselves to set up the game for their batsmen in the first one day international of the series. India, needing 191 to win the match, rode on Virat Kohli's 85 and a quickfire 33 from Ajinkya Rahane to chase down the total comfortably in the 32nd over. Winning the toss and choosing to bowl, India reduced New Zealand to 75 for six before opener Tom Latham and lower-order batsman Tim Southee forged a battling 71-run partnership to give their team a semblance of a chance. Opener Latham, 79 not out, was the star for the visitors as he became just the tenth man to carry his bat in an ODI innings. When India began their chase, barring Rohit Sharma dismissal early on, the result never seemed to be in doubt as Rahane and Kohli motored along. Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was back leading India's ODI team, also looked good in his knock of 21 before he was run out due to a misunderstanding with Kohli. India lead the five-match series 1-0 with the next game in Delhi on October 20. (WION with inputs from AFP)

Indian bowlers set up win against New Zealand

India were 239 for seven at stumps against New Zealand on the opening day of the second Test in Kolkata on Friday.

New Zealand pacer Matt Henry claimed three wickets, while Indian batsmen Cheteshwar Pujara (87) and Ajinkya Rahane (77) struck fighting half-centuries on an intense day of cricket.

At the start of the match, which marks India`s 250th Test at home, World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev rang a bell newly installed at the iconic Eden Gardens, following a similar tradition at Lord`s.

Ross Taylor is captaining New Zealand in the absence of Kane Williamson, who was ruled out with a virus.

(More to follow)

(AFP)

Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane struck gritty half-centuries to help India build a respectable Day 1 total

India were 239 for seven at stumps against New Zealand on the opening day of the second Test in Kolkata on Friday. New Zealand pacer Matt Henry claimed three wickets, while Indian batsmen Cheteshwar Pujara (87) and Ajinkya Rahane (77) struck fighting half-centuries on an intense day of cricket. At the start of the match, which marks India`s 250th Test at home, World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev rang a bell newly installed at the iconic Eden Gardens, following a similar tradition at Lord`s. Ross Taylor is captaining New Zealand in the absence of Kane Williamson, who was ruled out with a virus. (More to follow) (AFP)

New Zealand's early and late strikes leave India tottering at 239/7