44.3 overs India 227 (Hasabnis 42, Deepti 41, Amelia Kerr 4-42, Jess Kerr 3-49) vs New Zealand
Fresh from a maiden Women’s T20 World Cup win, New Zealand’s spinners combined to pick up seven of the ten wickets to bowl India out for 227 in the first women’s ODI in Ahmedabad.
The pair looked particularly at ease against spin, maneuvering the ball in the outfield to keep the scorecard ticking. Hasabnis showed her prowess against spin specifically when she went deep in the crease against Amelia’s legspin to slice it past backward point. The pair increased the pace as they went along in their 61-run partnership of just 70 balls.
But Rodrigues missed a clip off Bates and was adjudged lbw, the review returning an umpire’s call on impact. Then on 42, Hasabnis could not resist charging at a tossed up delivery from Amelia and was stumped. Deepti Sharma and Arundhati Reddy kept things afloat with their 37 off 47 but 250 looked a distant destination for India.
Deepti showed a lot of intent from the moment she walked in at No. 7. She hit a couple of fours and a six in her stay and was the last batter dismissed for 41, her best score in ODIs since September 2022. When she missed the sweep to be bowled, it did seem as if India had left a few runs on a surface where the ball was not misbehaving and strokeplay was not too difficult.
