Skipper Devine guides NZ to big win over India

India’s batters flattered to deceive as skipper Sophie Devine’s all-round heroics propelled New Zealand to a series-levelling 76-run win in the second women’s ODI here on Sunday.

Opting to bat, Devine struck 79 off 86, striking seven fours and a six while stitching a vital partnership of 82 runs for the fifth wicket with Maddy Green (42 off 41 balls) to lift New Zealand to a 259/9. Devine also excelled with the ball, finishing with figures of 3/27 as New Zealand’s bowlers combined to dismiss India for 183, which was built around No. 9 Radha Yadav’s fighting 48.

For the White Ferns, Lea Tahuhu (3/42) also claimed three wickets, while Jess Kerr (2/49) and Eden Carson (2/32) also chipped in with key dismissals.

Chasing the target, India found themselves at 26/3 within the first five overs. They further slipped to 102/7 in 26 overs when Radha and Saima Thakor (29) forged a spirited 70-run stand for the ninth wicket.

However, Kerr broke the partnership removing Thakor as the hosts were eventually dismissed in 47.1 overs, allowing New Zealand to level the series at 1-1.

Earlier, New Zealand were off to an excellent start with openers Suzie Bates (58 off 70 balls) and Georgia Plimmer (41 off 50) adding 87 runs in just under 16 overs.

“Pretty happy with the way the game went. We spoke about playing good cricket for long periods and we did that. We spoke about making sure to build partnerships,” Devine, who was named the Player of the Match, said.

Need to work on batting, says Harmanpreet

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur acknowledged the urgent need to address her team’s batting woes.

“We weren’t up to the mark. Batting is something that we really need to work on and if we do that we can win the series,” she said. “I think we gave away too many runs and dropped too many catches but I think it was still an achievable target but we didn’t bat well. We kept losing wickets in the chase. We will look to build partnerships next game,” she added.

Brief scores: New Zealand: 259/9 in 50 overs (Devine 79, Bates 58; Radha 4/69); India: 183 all out in 47.1 overs (Radha 48, Thakor 29, Harmanpreet 24; Devine 3/27, Tahuhu 3/42).