India Women's ODI and Test captain Mithali Raj claimed on Thursday that the side will be far better with the new talent when she retires after the upcoming 50-over World Cup.
"When I retire after this tournament, I will see that the squad is far stronger with the upcoming new talent," Mithali said after the fifth ODI against New Zealand.
India defeated New Zealand by six wickets in the fifth and final ODI at the John Davies Oval in Queenstown on Thursday to avoid a whitewash. Smriti Mandhana, Mithali Raj, and Harmanpreet Kaur starred with the bat.
"We have improved over the last few games we have played, that's a good sign before the World Cup. Was important to have the right preparation before the big tournament. Unfortunately, we couldn't get the camps in India due to the rising Omicron cases," said Mithali.
"The wicket seemed to bat friendly, but the bowlers did well today. Something that we need to work more on is our fielding. Thanks to the New Zealand cricket board for giving us this opportunity," she added.
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India earned their first win of the series with this victory, although the White Ferns won the ODI series 4-1.
Chasing 252, India's opening pair Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana put on a 29-run stand, however, Verma was dismissed in the fifth over by Hayley Jensen (9). Deepti Sharma and Smriti Mandhana then joined forces at the crease, putting on a 60-run partnership for the second wicket.
Fran Jonas then broke up the pair when she beat Deepti (21) and brought Harmanpreet Kaur into the middle. Mandhana and Harmanpreet put on 64 runs, but Jensen (71) got the better of Mandhana (71) and India was reduced to 153/3, still, 99 runs short of the mark.
Harmanpreet Kaur finally got her half-century, but India was still 27 runs short of their target, as Harmanpreet (63) lost her wicket. India won comfortably thanks to skipper Mithali Raj (57*) and Richa Ghosh (7*).
Earlier, Amelia Kerr scored 66 runs to help New Zealand record a total of 251/9 in their fifty-over allotment. Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Deepti Sharma, and Sneh Rana all had two wickets to their names for India.
(With ANI Inputs)
