India Women vs New Zealand Women Match Preview, 2nd ODI

The world champion beaters India Women (IND-W) and New Zealand Women (NZ-W) will square off in the second ODI at the colossal Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad, on Sunday, October 27. Notably, the White Ferns need to win this clash to keep the series alive after going down 1-0 in the three-match series.

After suffering a heartbreaking exit in the first round of the Women's T20 World Cup earlier this month, India started the three-match ODI series against New Zealand with an emphatic 59-run win in Ahmedabad on Thursday. Regular skipper Harmanpreet Kaur missed the match due to an unspecified niggle as Smriti Mandhana took over the leadership duties. The southpaw won the toss and opted to bat first against the T20 World Cup champions.

However, Smriti was dismissed in the third over as Jess Kerr provided the initial breakthrough. Shafali Verma and Yastika Bhatia batted positively and added a 37-run stand off 27 balls. The former departed for a quickfire 33 off 22 balls. Dayalan Hemalatha missed out on a good chance to showcase his skills as she was dismissed for three. Things went from bad to worse when Yastika perished for a 43-ball 37, as the hosts slumped to 91/4.

Jemimah Rodrigues and Tejal Hasabnis joined forces and resurrected the innings with a 61-run partnership off 70 balls. However, both of them fell in quick succession after getting to 35 and 42, respectively. Deepti Sharma and Arundhati Reddy added a crucial 37-run stand to take India beyond the 200-run mark. After the latter was dismissed, the onus was on Deepti to add as many runs as she could with the tail-enders.

The Bengal all-rounder lost partners at the other end and had no other option but to go for her shots. Jess returned to dismiss her as India got bowled out for 227 in 44.3 overs. Amelia Kerr was the best bowler on show for New Zealand as she finished with figures of 4/42, continuing her purple patch in white-ball cricket. Jess also bagged a three-for to give her good support.

India needed wickets upfront and Saima Thakor gave the start they would have wanted as the pacer got the better of Suzie Bates. Georgia Plimmer and Lauren Down batted in contrasting fashion during their 33-run stand before the former was dismissed for a run-a-ball 25.

New Zealand endured a catastrophe as their captain, Sophie Devine was run out after facing just five balls. Down struggled to rotate the strike and was eventually sent packing for a 56-ball 26. Brooke Halliday and Maddy Green started a fight back from 79/4 and added 49 runs off 63 balls. However, both of them departed in the same over as India had their tails up once again. Jess fell in the following over as the tourists went from 128/4 to 131/7 in no time.

Amelia and Isabella Gaze tried to delay the inevitable with a 36-run partnership. However, the last three wickets fell for one run, as New Zealand were bowled out for 168 in 40.4 overs. Radha Yadav and Saima Thakur bagged three and two wickets, respectively and the runouts of Devine and Green also didn't help New Zealand's cause as they went 0-1 down in the series. Their shortcomings on Indian tracks against quality spinners took a lot of people by surprise after their tremendous title-winning campaign in the T20 World Cup, earlier this month, on the pitches which were way more difficult for batting in the UAE.

Also Read: 'If you don't believe in cricket, you won't succeed' - Smriti Mandhana breathes sigh of relief after India wins first ODI

Match Details

Pitch Report

The pitch is expected to be decent for batting and it will be important for the batters to convert their starts into big knocks. In the first ODI, as many as seven batters got scores of over 30 but couldn't convert them into half-centuries. Application is going to be necessary in the initial moments for the new batters. However, there are a lot of runs to be had when they get themselves set at the crease.

Head-to-Head Record