Twitter Reactions: Lea Tahuhu's all-round brilliance helps New Zealand pip India in one-off women's T20I

Team India suffered an 18-run defeat in the one-off women’s T20I against New Zealand on Wednesday (February 9). It was a competitive game and India were in the hunt for the best part. However, they failed to chase down 156 and came second in the contest. New Zealand’s Lea Tahuhu showcased her all-round brilliance in the game and was instrumental in taking the hosts over the line.

Earlier in the match, Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and opted to bowl at the John Davies Oval in Queenstown. New Zealand got off to a fine start with Suzie Bates and skipper Sophie Devine adding 60 runs for the first wicket. Both batters scored in excess of 30 but failed to convert their start.

Lea Tahuhu was at her all-round best

While Amelia Kerr and Maddy Green also scored 17 and 26 respectively, the scoring rate was significantly down in the middle overs. Nonetheless, Tahuhu came out to bat at number five and played some delightful shots. The dasher scored 27 off just 14 deliveries as New Zealand posted 155/5 in their allotted 20 overs.

India’s chase started off well with Yastika Bhatia and Shafali Verma adding 41 runs for the opening wicket. While skipper Harmanpreet managed just 12 runs, Sabbhineni Meghana steadied the ship with a 30-ball 37. However, a clinical bowling performance from the home team meant India lost wickets at regular intervals. While Jess Kerr, Amelia Kerr and Hayley Jensen dismissed two batters apiece, Tahuhu bowled an economical spell and got the price scalp of Meghana.

As a result, the visitors were restricted to 137/8 in their allotted 20 overs, losing the contest by 18 runs. New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine was pleased with her side’s performance and she expressed same after the match.

“It’s awesome to lift the cup, it’s the blue print of how we want to play the game. Plenty of positives. The foundation in the powerplay and then Lea gave us that lift with the bat and got us to that 150 mark. The bowlers executed the plans well. Pleased with the performance today,” said Devine in the post-match conversation.

On the other hand, Harmanpreet said her team has a lot to learn from this loss. “I think we were in the game when we were bowling but the last few overs didn’t go in our favour and didn’t get any partnerships with the bat as well. Lot to learn from this and hopefully we will get better in the next few games. Playing at the same venue (for ODIs) definietly helps us,” stated the Indian skipper.

Meanwhile, let’s look at how Twitterati reacted to New Zealand’s win: