Courtesy: ICC/X
In pursuit of the 161-run target in their opening Group A match of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 against New Zealand, the Indian cricket team found themselves in deep trouble at 77/6 after 13 overs. None of the top five batters in the Indian lineup got past the 20-run mark, putting the pressure on the lower middle order to save the blushes amidst immense pressure being created by the New Zealand bowlers and fielders, which led to the social media platform X tearing them apart.
After New Zealand scored a formidable total of 160/4 in their allotted overs with a fifty from Sophie Devine, their bowlers were on their game from the very beginning. The high flying opening pair of Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma were back in the pavilion due to Eden Carson’s fine display of bowling inside the first five overs before Rosemary Mair picked up the key wicket of Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur for 15 off 14, trapping her lbw in front of the stumps.
Lea Tahuhu broke the back of India's middle order with three wickets
The veteran Lea Tahuhu took over from this point onwards, picking up the key wickets of Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh and Deepti Sharma cheaply, to put India in real trouble. Rosemary Mair dismissed Arundhati Reddy for 1 off 4, to put the Indian cricket team firmly behind in their opening match of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024.
Some of the posts from Indian fans on the social media platform X after Women in Blue’s batting collapse are as under:
Here are the playing XI of India and New Zealand in Women’s T20 World Cup 2024:
India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana, Renuka Singh
New Zealand: Suzie Bates, Georgia Plimmer, Amelia Kerr, Sophie Devine (c), Brooke Halliday, Maddy Green, Isabella Gaze (wk), Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Lea Tahuhu, Eden Carson
