Smriti Mandhana scored her third ODI century of 2024 as India broke the bat-first-win-game template in the series decider against New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Mandhana made 100 off 122, putting on big stands along the way with Yastika Bhatia (35) and Harmanpreet Kaur (59*) as the hosts cruised to victory in a chase of 232 with six wickets and 34 balls to spare and thereby clinched the series with a 2-1 margin.
India were seldom bothered in the chase despite the early loss of Shafali Verma, who was strangled down the legside by Hannah Rowe. With the target not quite daunting, Mandhana was allowed the luxury of a slow start – she was 9 off 26 at one point – before she got a measure of the pitch and found her range and timing. A swivel-pull off Sophie Devine and a lofted straight drive off Eden Carson got her innings going.
Mandhana and Bhatia never really got out of second gear in their stand of 76 to which the latter contributed 35 runs and four boundaries before drilling one straight back to Devine for a caught and bowled.
Any hope of a New Zealand comeback was quickly snuffed out as Harmanpreet tucked into a healthy diet of singles and doubles while Mandhana upped her tempo ever so efficiently. After getting to her fifty in 73 balls, the southpaw found a boundary in each of the next two overs – she would hit 10 in all – to bring the target down to double figures. The Indian captain required treatment to her left leg but the concern was not serious enough to disrupt her innings or the rising momentum of the chase. She struck two fours in successive overs to push India past 150.
In cruise control now, the two senior batters flicked a switch and the 37th over bowled by the visiting skipper Devine signalled the pair’s intention of not wanting to take this chase too deep. Harmanpreet whipped a four past mid-wicket before Mandhana did the double of a lofted off-drive and a pull for fours. Harmanpreet got to her 50, off 54 balls, before her deputy notched up her eighth ODI ton, going past Mithali Raj’s Indian record of seven, after pushing Carson to long off for a single.
Mandhana fell at the end of this 117-run stand by when victory was only 24 runs away, but Jemimah Rodrigues slammed four fours in her 18-ball 22 to hasten the victory march. India got home in the 45th over.
While the chase was orchestrated with clockwork precision, there were also gains made in the field. Asked to bowl first once more on a sultry afternoon, India produced an improved fielding effort after putting down as many as six chances in the second ODI. Today they affected three run-outs, including one right at the top to separate the in-form opening pair of Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer with Rodrigues dismissing the senior opener.
Despite Plimmer trying to reprise her fast-starting act from a couple of evenings ago, New Zealand managed only 35 for 2 in the PowerPlay. Devine, in fine form, struck two powerful boundaries in her first seven balls but was cleaned up by an excellent wrong ‘un from Priya Mishra. Playing only her second ODI, Mishra also removed Plimmer for 39 after drawing an edge that was snapped by Deepti Sharma, who incidentally put down three in the last game.
New Zealand were five down for 88 after another miscommunication led to Maddy Green’s runout with Rodrigues once again the alert fielder. The onus was on Brooke Halliday to anchor the turnaround and she found an able partner in Isabella Gaze, who made 25 off 49 in a stand of 64. Halliday struck a six off Mishra in the 38th over and got to her sixth half-century in the 40th, before putting her foot on the pedal.
Two more sixes came off her bat before she fell in the 46th over after making a career-best 86 off 96. In the absence of Shreyanka Patil, out with shin splints, Deepti extended her good form and finished with a three-wicket haul, but India still conceded 70 in the final eight overs of the innings. On this day, however, it wasn’t going to hurt them as New Zealand just didn’t have enough.
Brief scores: New Zealand 232 in 49.5 overs (Brooke Halliday 86, Georgia Plimmer 39; Deepti Sharma 3-39, Priya Mishra 2-41) lost to India 236/4 in 44.2 overs (Smriti Mandhana 100, Harmanpreet Kaur 59*; Hannah Rowe 2-47) by six wickets
Be the first to comment