The spinners, who have failed to get the momentum so far, laid the foundation for the victory by taking seven wickets on Thursday.(Photo Credit: @ICC/Twitter)
queenstown, India won the fifth and final half-centuries on Thursday with the help of half-centuries from all three of its experienced batsmen, captain Mithali Raj, opener Smriti Mandhana and in-form Harmanpreet Kaur. They registered their first win of the tour after beating New Zealand by six wickets in the final Women’s One Day International (ODI) match.
The Indian bowlers, who did not perform as expected in the previous matches, also did well in the end and allowed New Zealand to score 251 runs for nine wickets in the allotted 50 overs. New Zealand’s in-form Amelia Kerr made 66 runs off 75 balls but the Indian bowlers did not allow skipper Sophie Devine (34), Lauren Down (30) and Haley Jensen (30) to take advantage of a good start.
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India chased down the target for the loss of four wickets in 46 overs with Harmanpreet’s 63 off 66 balls, Mandhana’s 71 off 84 balls and Mithali’s 54 not out off 66 balls. After losing the only T20I and the first four ODIs on this tour, India desperately needed a win ahead of next month’s World Cup. The spinners, who have failed to find the momentum so far, laid the foundation for victory by taking seven wickets on Thursday.
Three fisties from the top order and a spin attack that took six wickets, helped India win the final ODI of the series.
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— ICC (@ICC) February 24, 2022
Deepti Sharma, Rajeshwari Gaikwad and Sneh Rana took two wickets each while pacer Meghna Singh also made an impact in the five overs she bowled. Star opener Mandhana, who did not play in the first three ODIs due to long isolation, also spent useful time at the crease ahead of the World Cup. He hit nine fours in his innings. The return of Harmanpreet, who has been struggling to score runs for some time, is also a good sign for India. He was not selected in the playing XI in the previous match after consecutive failures.
He hit sweep shots well and hit six fours and a six in his innings. Mithali again played a useful innings and hit a total of five fours. Mithali said after the match, “We have shown improvement in the last few matches which is a good sign before the World Cup. Correct preparations are important before the tournament.
Unfortunately, we were not able to organize the exercise camp in India due to Omicron cases increasing. “The wicket looked good to bat but the bowlers did well. We need to work more on our fielding. (agency)