Mithali Raj returned to form with a splendid, unbeaten 81 as India defeated New Zealand by eight wickets to level their five-match women’s One-Day International series here on Monday.
Set a target of 221 for victory — only once had India successfully chased down a bigger total — the home team produced an emphatic performance with the bat to sail home in 44.2 overs.
The series will now be decided by the fifth and final match, to be played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Wednesday.
Mithali’s 88-ball innings was at the centre of the run chase, but the captain was ably supported by Smriti Mandhana. The pair added 124 runs for the second wicket, firmly shutting the door on New Zealand. Smriti’s 66 (99b, 8x4) was her third half-century in 14 ODIs, and came at a vital time for her side.
The 18-year-old left-hander has an easy, graceful style. She was not afraid to use her feet against the spinners, and kept the score motoring along in her senior colleague’s company.
Mithali had gone without a fifty in her previous eight outings and was under some pressure to turn things around.
Milestone for Mithali She broke that streak in fine fashion here, in the process becoming only the second woman cricketer (after England’s Charlotte Edwards) to aggregate 5,000 runs in ODIs.
Mithali struck 10 fours in her innings, stepping out of the crease routinely to drive the bowlers inside-out over the infield. After Mandhana’s dismissal, Harmanpreet Kaur joined her skipper, hitting a rapid 32 —including the winning runs with a six over long-on — to hasten the conclusion.
For a while, it seemed India might have to pursue a much bigger target. Sophie Devine, who eventually made 89, looked imperious at one end but lost partners in clumps. Rajeshwari Gayakwad, who finished with three for 25, struck twice in the 40th over, bowling both Katie Perkins and Leigh Kasperek around their legs.
New Zealand recovered somewhat but Niranjana Nagarajan removed Anna Peterson and Lea Tahuhu in the space of three balls to rob the visitors of momentum again.
India’s fielding was again a disappointment, but for now Mithali will be pleased to have kept the series alive.
Scoreboard
New Zealand: Suzie Bates c Kaur b Yadav 27 (49b, 3x4), Rachel Priest c Veda b Goswami 2 (4b), Amy Satterthwaite b Kaur 43 (55b, 6x4, 1x6), Maddie Green c & b Gayakwad 14 (34b, 1x4), Sophie Devine b Niranjana 89 (102b, 10x4, 3x6), Katie Perkins b Gayakwad 8 (17b), Leigh Kasperek b Gayakwad 0 (3b), Anna Peterson lbw b Niranjana 14 (25b, 1x6), Lea Tahuhu b Niranjana 0 (2b), Morna Nielsen lbw b Kaur 1 (4b), Georgia Guy (not out) 0 (4b); Extras (b-8, lb-6, w-8): 22; Total (in 49.5 overs): 220.
Fall of wickets: 1-5 (Priest), 2-67 (Bates), 3-77 (Satterthwaite), 4-135 (Green), 5-156 (Perkins), 6-156 (Kasperek), 7-193 (Peterson), 8-193 (Tahuhu), 9-214 (Nielsen).
India bowling: Jhulan Goswami 10-2-31-1, N. Niranjana 5.5-0-35-3, Deepti Sharma 9-0-43-0, Rajeshwari Gayakwad 10-2-25-3, Poonam Yadav 7-0-49-1, Harmanpreet Kaur 8-2-23-2.
India: M.D. Thirushkamini c Green b Satterthwaite 31 (54b, 7x4), Smriti Mandhana c Perkins b Peterson 66 (99b, 8x4), Mithali Raj (not out) 81 (88b, 10x4), Harmanpreet Kaur (not out) 32 (25b, 4x4, 2x6); Extras (b-4, lb-1, w-6): 11; Total (for two wkts. in 44.2 overs): 221.
Fall of wickets: 1-49 (Thirushkamini), 2-173 (Mandhana).
New Zealand bowling: Lea Tahuhu 9-1-39-0, Sophie Devine 6-1-29-0, Georgia Guy 3-0-20-0, Suzie Bates 4-0-14-0, Leigh Kasperek 6.2-0-36-0, Amy Satterthwaite 5-0-27-1, Morna Nielsen 7-0-32-0, Anna Peterson 4-0-19-1.
Toss: New Zealand.
India won by eight wkts. with 5.4 overs to spare.
