India beaten in opener as Pak, Bangladesh make a winning start

Dubai (TIP)- The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 has started on a mixed note for the Asian teams as India was humbled in its opener while Pakistan and Bangladesh made winning starts in the tournament that got underway in UAE after it was shifted from strife-torn Bangladesh.India, who lost to New Zealand by 58 runs, will have to come back strongly in its next assignment against Pakistan to stay in the hunt for a place in the knockout round. New Zealand, buoyed by this win will enter with a lot of confidence against six-time champion Australia in its next encounter.
Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 31 runs while Bangladesh recorded its first-ever win in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup since 2014 defeating Scotland by 16 runs. In another match, South Africa recorded an impressive 10-wicket win over West Indies.
After opting to bat first, the Kiwis started strong, with openers Bates and Plimmer laying a solid foundation in the first six overs. They played cautiously yet effectively, setting the stage for a competitive total. However, the game’s momentum shifted when India claimed a couple of quick wickets, turning the match into a tactical contest. India’s spinners took control, effectively slowing the run rate during the middle overs. Despite these challenges, New Zealand forced its way back in the death overs. Sophie Devine’s unbeaten half-century, along with crucial partnerships with Kerr and Halliday, propelled the team forward. The Kiwis finished strong, scoring 51 runs in the final five overs and posting a challenging total for India to chase. Following an impressive performance by its batters, New Zealand bowlers, too, stepped in capitalizing on the advantages with no apparent dew and the ball moving both in the air and off the pitch. Their disciplined attack yielded quick wickets in the early stages, effectively tearing apart the Indian batting order. Young Eden Carson delivered an impressive performance, while the seasoned Lea Tahuhu claimed three wickets but it was Rosemary Mair who chipped in with a spectacular 4-fer. The Kiwi bowlers worked together effectively, thwarting any potential partnerships from flourishing. Their disciplined bowling was complemented by outstanding fielding, leaving no Indian batter able to score more than 20 runs. To make matters worse, no partnership managed to exceed 20 runs either.
This pressure to accelerate certainly got the better of them as Jemimah Rodrigues too fell early in her innings in an attempt to counterattack. In stark contrast to their opponents, the Indian innings got off to a disastrous start. The Powerplay proved brutal as it lost its top three batters – Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, and Harmanpreet Kaur – cheaply. With the score at a precarious 43/3 in 6 overs, India found itself in deep trouble already.
As a result, with too many wickets down, India crawled through the mid-overs and could only get to 63 at the halfway stage versus New Zealand 72/2 at this very stage. They never found the momentum and the asking rate zoomed up massively and it was a matter of time before a procession of wickets which further depleted their hopes. And in the end, they were bowled out with an over to spare.
New Zealand 160 for four in 20 overs (Sophie Devine 57 not out, Georgia Plimmer 34; Renuka Singh Thakur 2/27)
India 102 all out in 19 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 15, Jemimah Rodrigues 13; Rosemary Mair 4/19, Lea Tahuhu 3/15)
New Zealand won by 58 runs.
(Prabhjot Singh, is a Toronto-based award-winning independent journalist, He was celebrated by AIPS, the international body of sports journalists, for covering ten Olympics at its centennial celebrations held at UNESCO Centre in Paris during the 2024 Olympic Games. Besides, he has written extensively about business and the financial markets, the health industry, the public and private sectors, and aviation. He has worked as a political reporter besides covering Sikh and Punjab politics. He is particularly interested in Indian Diaspora and Sikh Diaspora in particular. His work has also appeared in various international and national newspapers, magazines and journals.)