DUBAI: New Zealand captain Sophie Devine led from the front with an unbeaten 57 in her team’s 58-run win over India in their opening match of the Women’s T20 World Cup on Friday.

Devine, who hit seven fours in a late blast, steered New Zealand to 160-4 despite a stutter after she had elected to bat first in Dubai.

Medium-pace bowlers Rosemary Mair and Lea Tahuhu then shared seven wickets to bowl out India for 102 in 19 overs to end New Zealand’s 10-match losing streak.

New Zealand started strongly with a brisk opening stand of 67 between Suzie Bates, who made 27, and Georgia Plimmer, who hit 34.

Bates survived a reprieve on 18 when wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh dropped a skier as the ball popped out off her gloves off the bowling of Arundhati Reddy.

The bowler finally had Bates caught at deep mid-wicket in her next over for the first breakthrough.

Plimmer followed her opening partner three balls later caught off leg-spinner Asha Sobhana.

Controversy erupted when skipper Harmanpreet Kaur ran out Amelia Kerr with a throw from the deep to the wicket-keeper, who whipped the bails off, but the umpire called the batter back because the ball had been ‘dead’ — out of play.

Kaur remained unhappy and had a long discussion with the umpires before grudgingly getting back to the game, but Kerr was out, caught, two balls later in the next over.

Devine stood firm and took the attack to the opposition with regular boundaries. She reached her fifty with a four as New Zealand hit 37 runs off the last three overs.

Devine will step down as captain at the end of the tournament after playing in every World Cup, earning two runner-up finishes.

India were never in the chase after losing openers Shafali Verma, for two, and Smriti Mandhana, for 12, insi­de the first five overs. Both fell to Eden Carson.

Mair had Kaur lbw for 15 to further dent the chase and finished off the match with two successive wickets to return figures of 4-19.

Tahuhu rattled the middle-order including Jemimah Rodrigues, Ghosh and Deepti Sharma.

Earlier on Friday, skipper Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits fired South Africa to a crushing 10-wicket win over the West Indies in their opening match of the global event.

Left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba set up the win with bowling figures of 4-29 to restrict 2016 champions West Indies to 118-6 in Dubai.

Wolvaardt, who hit 59, and Brits, who made 57, then took charge to steer last year’s finalists to 119-0 in 17.5 overs.

Wolvaardt was tested early in her knock by the West Indies bowlers but once she found rhythm, the right-handed opener reached her 50 in 45 balls.

Brits also raised her half-ton in 45 balls and ended her knock with six boundaries.

Earlier, the West Indies suffered from regular wicket-fall and struggled to put up a fighting total despite an unbeaten 44 from number-three batter Stafanie Taylor.

Marizanne Kapp struck first with the wicket of skipper Hayley Matthews, out for 10, and soon Mlaba sent back Qiana Joseph, for four.

Mlaba, named player of the match, kept the batters in a spin with her change of pace and angle and took two wickets in two overs to flatten the West Indian batting.

Kapp returned figures of 2-14.

Brief scores:

New Zealand beat India by 58 runs.

NEW ZEALAND 160-4 in 20 overs (Bates 27, Plimmer 34, Devine 57 not out; Renuka 2-27); INDIA 102 in 19 overs (Kaur 15; Mair 4-19, Tahuhu 3-15).

South Africa beat West Indies by 10 wickets.

WEST INDIES 118-6 in 20 overs (Taylor 44 not out, Campbelle 17; Mlaba 4-29); SOUTH AFRICA 119-0 in 17.5 overs (Wolvaardt 59 not out, Brits 57 not out; Matthews 0-22).

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2024