India looking to wrap up the series
With their captain being ruled out of the game due to an injury, hosts India saw their bowlers take them home to a big win in the opening game of their ODI series against New Zealand and Harmanpreet Kaur’s girls will be looking to seal the series when they go up against the Kiwis in the second ODI.
Ahead of the game, here’s our match preview and predictions.
The hosts chose to bat first on a slow and turning wicket, which was fully utilised by the Kerr sisters, Amelia and Jess. Stand-in captain, Smriti Mandhana, fell early for a soft dismissal before Shafali Verman and Yastika Bhatia tried to repair the innings. The first-wicket partnership was the only time there was some flow in the innings as after that the spinners kept a check on the Indian batters. While Tejal Hasabnis and Deepti Sharma got some crucial runs lower down the order, the Kiwis bowled India out for 227.
For New Zealand, Jess Kerr took three wickets while her sister was clinical, with a 4/42 in her nine overs, being miserly and impactful. Eden Carson and Sophie Devine in the middle also kept a check on the runs.
Playing her debut game, it was Saima Thakor with the huge wicket of Suzie Bates early on before the likes of Radha Yadav and Deepti Sharma put a stop to the New Zealand run chase. It was clinical from the Indian bowlers as they bundled out New Zealand for 168 to take a comfortable 59 run to go 1-0 in the series.
With Harmanpreet Kaur returning, India will hope the Mandhana up top will have less pressure and score more freely while they will expect the likes of Yastika Bhatia and Jemimah Rodrigues to convert their starts into big scores. For the reigning T20 World Champions, it will be once again a test of their batting, especially against the spinners and with the likes of Radha Yadav, Deepti Sharma in top form, it is the hosts once again who will be the favourites to take the win on the Ahmedabad track once again. Expect the game to be dominated by the slow bowlers with the spinners set to take charge.
Fantasy XI: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Suzie Bates, Harmanpreet Kaur, Amelia Kerr, Deepti Sharma, Sophie Devine, Georgia Plimmer, Renuka Singh, Arundhati Reddy, Jess Kerr
Venue: Ahmedabad
Winners Prediction: India
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