Indian Women’s Team Lost Their T20 World Cup Opener

The Indian women’s team lost their T20 World Cup 2024 opener to the New Zealand Side on Friday 4th October at the Dubai International Stadium. Kiwi skipper Sophie Devine bagged the Man of the Match award for her superb 57 off 36 balls.

After winning the toss and getting to bat first, New Zealand posted a solid total of 160/4 in their allotted 20 overs. Experienced campaigner Suzie Bates and young batter Plimmer fabricated a 67-run partnership before Suzie fell to Reddy for 27 runs. Just after two balls, Plimmer also lost her wicket to Asha for 34 off 23 balls. Then their captain Devine stepped in and played a crucial half-century knock laced with 7 fours to take their team to a respectable score.  For India, Renuka was the pick of the bowlers with 2 for 27 in four overs.

India came out to chase down the numbers with Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma but lost their first wicket as Verma gave a return catch to off-spinner Carson in the 1.1 over. Afterward, India could not fabricate a stand and kept losing wickets in regular intervals. India’s highest partnership in the match was between Mandhana and captain Harmanpreet Kaur, 17 runs, and eventually, the Men in Blue got bundled for a mere 102 runs, losing the game by a huge margin of 58 runs. Kiwi seamer Rosemary Mair claimed a sensational 4/19 while Tahuhu and Carson took three wickets apiece. ‘

After a disappointing start, India needs to win all their group matches against Australia, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka to stay in the semi-finals race.