Women’s T20 World Cup: New Zealand shock India with 58-run win

New Zealand came into the World Cup in a bit of disarray after 5-0 and 3-0 series defeats by England and Australia respectively, and the way they approached this tournament opener looked like a team with absolutely nothing to lose.

And that makes for a dangerous prospect with veteran Bates guiding young Plimmer in a dynamic, entertaining partnership which seemed to take India by surprise as Richa Ghosh put down a simple chance to get rid of the former, and misfields started to creep in to give more runs away.

A score of 55-0 after the powerplay gave Devine a much-needed platform so that the wickets of the openers did not matter too much – she could absorb pressure through the middle overs before unleashing at the end, striking seven fours in her 36-ball knock.

But it was Melie Kerr who was involved in one of the biggest talking points despite only scoring 13, as she was run out coming back for a surprising second, only for the umpires to call it a dead ball after a lengthy review and protests from the India camp.

Harmanpreet, who completed the run out, discussed the incident with the umpires for quite some time while New Zealand kept their cool, despite Kerr’s dismissal just a few balls later.

Devine, who was in the middle with Kerr, refused to be drawn into the controversy and instead retained a steely focus on the job at hand, notching her 21st T20 half-century to keep India firmly on the back foot.

The competitive total meant India had no choice when starting their chase but to try and match New Zealand’s fearless approach, which contributed to their downfall.

They are a batting line-up packed with potential but none could fire: off-spinner Eden Carson had Shafali Verma caught and bowled in the second over, Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues both holed out while trying to force the boundary and Harmanpreet was pinned lbw by Mair, who was rewarded for her consistency and clever changes of pace.