Harmanpreet Kaur struck a much-needed half-century to get again among the many runs because the Indian girls’s cricket workforce lastly managed to beat New Zealand within the series-ending fifth ODI for a consolatory six-wicket win right here on Thursday.
The Indian bowlers, who under-performed previous to the sport, lastly received their act collectively to restrict New Zealand to 251 for 9 in 50 overs.
India chased down the goal in 46 overs courtesy Harmanpreet’s 63 off 66 balls and Smriti Mandhana’s 71 off 84 balls. Skipper Mithali Raj remained unbeaten on 57 off 66 balls.
Having misplaced the one off T20 and first 4 ODIs, India badly wanted a win to achieve some momentum going into the ODI World Cup subsequent month.
#CrewIndia seal an excellent win within the fifth & closing #NZWvINDW WODI!
7⃣1⃣ for @mandhana_smriti
6⃣3⃣ for @ImHarmanpreet
5⃣7⃣* for captain @M_Raj03Scorecard ️ https://t.co/PYCP6aVlkW
Upwards and onwards from right here on forward of the #CWC22
: @PhotosportNZ pic.twitter.com/V8houCvGjx
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) February 24, 2022
The spinners, who struggled to supply the breakthroughs, shared seven wickets amongst themselves on Thursday.
Deepti Sharma, Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Sneh Rana took two wickets every whereas pacer Meghna Singh too was spectacular within the 5 overs she bowled.
Star batter Mandhana, who had missed the primary three ODIs and the T20 resulting from an prolonged keep in quarantine, additionally received some useful time within the center.
The ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year collected 9 fours in her 84-ball effort.
Harmanpreet should be relieved after scoring her first fifty in near 12 months.
She was dropped from the earlier recreation after a protracted lean patch and got here beneath heavy criticism from former gamers together with ex-captain Diana Edulji.
She used the sweep shot successfully to gather a bunch of boundaries earlier than utilizing a pull shot to achieve the half-century.
The Indian workforce must be in line with performances like they placed on Thursday whether it is to problem for the world title.
“We have improved over the last few games we have played, that’s a good sign before the World Cup. Was important to have the right preparation before the big tournament. Unfortunately we couldn’t get the camps in India due to the rising Omicron cases,” mentioned Mithali within the post-match presentation.
“The wicket appeared batting pleasant, however the bowlers did effectively at the moment. Something that we have to work extra on is our fielding. When I retire after this event, I’ll see that the squad is way extra stronger with the upcoming new expertise,” she added.
,
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
