Navi Mumbai: India qualified for the semifinals of the Women’s World Cup after scintillating hundreds by Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal set up a commanding 53-run win over New Zealand via DLS Method here on Thursday.
Asked to bat first, India posted an imposing 340 for three after the contest was reduced to 49 overs per side following a rain interruption just before the first innings was coming to an end.
After another interruption, the target was revised to 325 in 44 overs as per the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method, and New Zealand were stopped at 271 for eight in the allotted overs.
Brooke Halliday (81) top-scored for New Zealand while Izzy Gaze (65*) and Melie Kerr (45) also made vital contributions. Meanwhile, all of India’s bowlers returned with a wicket, with Renuka Singh Thakur (2/25) and Kranti Gaud (2/48) being the pick of the lot.
New Zealand’s chase began with Suzie Bates falling in the second over, but Georgia Plimmer and Melie Kerr quickly steadied the ship.
The pair added a brisk 50-run stand to keep New Zealand in the game. However, once that partnership was broken, the Indian bowlers kept chipping in with timely wickets. Thakur removed both Plimmer and skipper Sophie Devine in her consecutive overs, that left New Zealand reeling at 59/3.
Melie tried to rebuild with Brooke Halliday, while shifting gears, in which the duo added a crucial 56-run stand but just when it seemed like the chase was taking shape, Sneh Rana provided the breakthrough by removing Melie.
Halliday kept New Zealand’s hopes alive with a gritty knock, even as wickets continued to tumble at the other end. She found some support from Maddy Green, who helped add 39 runs for the fifth wicket before Pratika Rawal struck to tighten India’s grip on the contest.
With the asking rate climbing and most of the senior batters back in the pavilion, the target seemed too tall. In the end, New Zealand fell well short and India’s convincing victory sealed their place in the last four in their fifth World Cup semifinal appearance.
Earlier in the first innings, Harmanpreet Kaur’s side put up a commanding 340/3 in 49 overs. Centuries from Pratika Rawal (122) and Smriti Mandhana (109) laid the foundation for India’s strong first innings, while Jemimah Rodrigues (76*) added further momentum with a brisk knock to help India post their highest total of the tournament so far.
The final phase of India’s innings was briefly interrupted by rain initially leading to a revised 49-over contest and then further reducing it to 44-over per side game, after India’s innings ended.
For New Zealand, Suzie Bates, Melie Kerr, and Rosemary Mair claimed a wicket each but India’s top order proved too strong, helping the hosts reach a formidable total.
Jemimah Rodrigues and Pratika Rawal stitched together a 76-run stand before Rawal’s fine knock came to an end. The opener was caught in the deep by substitute fielder Hannah Rowe, who completed a sharp diving effort off Melie Kerr’s bowling.
However, despite the dismissal of both openers, Rodrigues’ composed innings that consisted of 11 boundaries proved to be crucial, adding valuable runs to India’s strong platform.
It was Suzie Bates who had broken a 213-run opening stand with the wicket of Smriti Mandhana. Mandhana was dismissed when she tried to go big but was caught out at deep midwicket after a top edge.
India had got off to a flying start against New Zealand with openers Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal stitching together a commanding 212-run partnership, India’s best opening stand in the tournament so far.
Mandhana notched up her first century of the tournament and 14th in ODIs, putting India in a dominant position early on before she was dismissed by Bates.
Rawal then struck her first century to continue her fine run in the World Cup. Earlier in the innings, she became the joint-fastest batter to 1000 ODI runs, achieving the feat in just 23 innings.
