The first WODI between New Zealand Women and India Women under the ICC Women’s Championship at Napier ended with India Women dominating the hosts.
Indian captain Mithali Raj won the toss and chose to bowl first. Her decision was proven correct by the Indian bowlers, as the white ferns failed to capitalize on a good batting surface.
Suzie Bates (36) top-scored with Any Satterthwaite (31), Amelia Kerr and Sophie Devine making 28 apiece being the main scorers for the New Zealand team. In the end, they were bowled out for 192 runs in the 49th over.
For India, Ekta Bisht (3/32) and Poonam Yadav (3/42) were the destroyers in chief, while Deepti Sharma (2/27) and Shikhar Pandey (1/38) were the other wicket-takers.
Indian women chased down the total with efficiency, showing that there were no demons in the pitch.
Jemimah Rodrigues opened with Smriti Mandhana and the duo put on 190 runs for the first wicket, as Rodrigues scored 81* in 94 balls with 9 fours, her first fifty-plus score in her 5th WODI.
The star of the match proved to be Smriti Mandhana, who slammed 105 in 104 balls with 9 fours and 3 sixes, becoming the second batswoman to hit a WODI century against New Zealand after Mithali Raj.
She fell to Kerr just when India women required 3 runs to win the match, but the team managed to complete a 9-wicket win over the hosts in 33 overs.
BRIEF SCORES:
NZW 192 (S BATES 36; E BISHT 3/32) lost to INDW 193/1 (S MANDHANA 105, J RODRIGUES 81*) by 9 wickets
