India 227 (Hasabnis 42, Deepti 41, Amelia Kerr 4-42, Jess Kerr 3-49) beat New Zealand 168 (Halliday 39, Green 31, Radha 3-35, Thakor 2-26) by 59 runs
New Zealand were on the high of a maiden Women’s T20 World Cup win and their spinners combined to take seven of the ten Indian wickets to restrict them to 227. But India’s ODI debutants, Tejal Hasabnis and Saima Thakor, shone in crucial moments to help them make a winning start to the three-match series against New Zealand in Ahmedabad.
Hasabnis, the Maharashtra middle-order batter, played a steady innings at No. 6 walking in after India were in a spot of bother. She made 42 off 64 balls and was involved in a 61-run partnership. Then Thakor, Mumbai’s bowling allrounder who played for UP Warriorz in WPL 2024, delivered telling blows with the ball to help dismiss New Zealand for 168 and help India go 1-0 up with a 59-run win at a venue that was hosting a women’s ODI for the first time since April 2013
Full report to follow…