India vs New Zealand 2024 ODI series

Indian women’s team played a three match ODI series against New Zealand from 24th October, 2024 to 29th October, 2024. The matches were scheduled in the iconic- Narendra Modi Stadium and it was the hosts who won the series by 2-1. Recently, New Zealand lifted the 2024 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup and this was their first assignment post a big win. Overall, it was a good outing for both the teams as they both got good exposure in the scorching heat of Ahmedabad. 

India introduced three new players in international cricket and all of the three flourished when they got their chance. 

Match 1- ODI 1 off 3, 24th October, 2024

India won the toss and they elected to bat first. They posted a decent score of 277 but lost all the wickets in 44.3 overs. Tejal Hasabnis and Saima Thakor made their debut and both of them played good cricket as they made significant contributions in the winning cause. Tejal scored a compact 42(64) and Saima took 2 wickets by bowling a spell of 7 overs. 

Apart from the debutants, it was Deepti Sharma’s compact knock of 41(51) and Radha Yadav’s three wicket haul. New Zealand, on the other hand, managed to score only 168 as they were also all out in 40.4 overs. Some resilience was seen by Brooke Halliday but she too departed on 39. Hence, India started on a good note as they defeated the visitors comfortably.

Match 2- ODI 2 Off 3, 27th October, 2024

In the second match, New Zealand won the toss and they elected to bat first. Senior players- Sophie Devine(79 off 86) and Suzie Bates(58 off 70) scored half centuries. Apart from that, opener- Georgia Plimmer and middle order batter- Maddy Green scored 40+ runs. By the end of the innings, their team managed to put 259/9 on the board. 

The Indian team introduced another player- Priya Mishra, as she made her debut. She is a young talented leg spinner from Delhi. Mishra lacks experience but not the skill. For a brief period of time, she made the New Zealand batters uncomfortable with her variations. 

In the second innings, India’s batting order succumbed as Lee Tahuhu and Sophie Devine took three wickets each. Some counter attack was done by Radha Yadav but that couldn’t help India in pulling off a victory. Along with that, she took two brilliant catches in fielding as well. She was the lone fighter in that game. 

It must be appreciated that the New Zealanders bounced back quite well after the defeat in the first match. 

Match 3 - ODI 3 off 3, 29th October, 2024 

Third match was the decider, as both the teams had won one match each. New Zealand won the toss and decided to bat, yet again. Their top order collapsed, but Brooke Halliday rescued her team by scoring 86 off 96 balls. Priya Mishra and Deepti Sharma bowled well and restricted the visitors to 232

It is often said that great players perform at the biggest event. Smriti Mandhana stood true to this statement as she scored a century while chasing. On the other end, it was Harmanpreet Kaur who played the role of anchor by scoring a fine fifty. The two senior members of the Indian Team, the captain and the vice captain, made sure that their team won the series.