By: BCCI
With a 17-run win against New Zealand, India took a 1-0 lead in the five-match ODI series, the first three of which are part of the ICC Women’s Championship. Coming in to bat at 52 for five, Jhulan Goswami carried India to a modest 142 with a determined 57 off 67 balls.
After the top and middle-order crumbled, India depended on the experience of the senior cricketer to help put a total on the board. And Goswami responded with gritty display; posting her maiden half-century in the process as she stretched the hosts’ innings with contributions from the lower-order. The spinners then helped bowl the Suzie Bates-led side for 125 in the series opener.
Earlier, after electing to bat, Poonam Raut was the first to return to the dressing room in the fifth over. Looking to break the shackles, the opener was bowled by Lea Tahuhu with 15 runs on the board. Mithali Raj then joined Smriti Mandhana in the middle, but the pair were kept on a tight leash by the opposition. 23 runs later, the opener coming down the track, looking to give the charge to the bowler missed, and was stumped by Rachel Priest off Morna Nielsen.
Raj was the next to depart to a brilliant catch at short mid-wicket. Debutant Leigh Kasperek who claimed the prized wicket of the India skipper with a full toss then followed up with the wickets of Harmanpreet Kaur and Veda Krishnamurthy after Tahuhu had sent back Shikha Pandey.
Trapped lbw by Tahuhu, Pandey followed Raj back to the pavilion while Kaur nicked the debutant to the wicketkeeper. Krishnamurthy looking to sweep Kasperek was out leg-before wicket and at 55 for six, India had their back to the wall and it was up to Goswami to keep the team afloat. She strove to build partnerships with the lower-order. But after adding 16 runs to the total, Sneh Rana departed hitting Neilsen straight to deep mid-wicket.
Ekta Bisht, who then took guard drove Kate Broadmore to the boundary and followed up with another to square-leg as India prodded towards the three-figure mark. However with the team on 87, Bisht was sent back by Neilsen. Goswami who was holding up the other end then slammed the bowler over deep mid-wicket to take the team in to the 90s later in the over as she carried the innings further.
And with debutant Ravi Kalpana, Goswami took the team past the 100-run mark. The youngster had stood stoically at one end as the pair added 26 runs for the ninth wicket until falling to Sophie Devine. With the team on 113, Kalpana hit the bowler straight to Bates at cover and returned for three.
Goswami continued to strike the ball with determination. With Rajeshwari Gayakwad she kept the flow of runs coming with singles and when the opportunity presented itself she smashed Devine for six. As she continued the effort to add to the total she smacked three more boundaries. Her hit through mid-wicket brought up Goswami’s first ever ODI half-century with a boundary under trying circumstances.
However, she couldn’t see the team complete their full quota of overs and was the last wicket to fall at 44.3. While on 57 she lost her stumps to Tahuhu bringing curtains down on the innings.
Defending the modest total, Goswami returned to lead the bowling attack from the front. Hitting the deck hard the tall pacer conceded only a single in her first over and continued to keep the batters on their toes. She was ably complemented from the other end by Bisht in keeping runs at bay.
With just five runs on the board, Bisht trapped Priest lbw to give India their first breakthrough. While the White Ferns captain, Bates worked to anchor the innings, the Indian bowlers kept the flow of runs in check and stepped up the pressure. 14 runs later, Amy Satterthwaite hit Rana straight to Mandhana who took the catch at short cover.
Bates ploughed on as the visitors strove to scale the target with Broadmore. Broadmore who had survived while on zero as the wicketkeeper struggled to hold on to the edge scrapped five runs before a mix-up in the middle saw her run-out while looking for the second run. And couple of overs later, Bates’ resistance too came to end for 28. Bowled by Gayakwad, the NZ skipper’s departure left the team tottering on 45 for four.
Devine and Katie Perkins kept the scoreboard ticking, maintaining a steady flow they looked to stitch a partnership. But as the partnership began to blossom, Kaur ended the stand giving India a much needed breakthrough with the wicket of Perkins and keep the hosts in the reckoning.
Kasperek then joined Devine in the effort of keeping NZ in the game. But, again as the partnership began to take shape, Kaur halted it for 20. Devine perished cutting the delivery to point.
With the match hanging in balance, Goswami followed up with a maiden over first up in the batting powerplay. And although the young debutant brought up NZ’s 100 in the next over by sweeping Bisht to the boundary runs were at a premium and pressure continued to build as Goswami charged in from the other end. Rana then dealt a timely blow by knocking back Anna Peterson’s stumps to leave the visitors struggling on 103 for seven.
Couple of overs later, in her next the off-spinner caught Maddie Green off her own bowling as the batsman hit it straight back, to bring India within two wickets of a win. With pressure mounting, NZ lost Tahuhu to a run out, scrapping for a single with 114 on the board. 11 runs later, Bisht claimed Neilsen to bowl India to victory.
