India beat New Zealand by 53 runs to reach Women’s World Cup semifinals

India entered the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup semifinals after defeating New Zealand by 53 runs via the DLS method in a rain-hit match in Navi Mumbai. Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal scored centuries while Jemimah Rodrigues added an unbeaten 76

Navi Mumbai: Fighting half-centuries by Brooke Halliday and Isabella Gaze went in vain as New Zealand succumbed to a superior batting and bowling effort by India to go down by 53 runs via the DLS method in a rain-hit Match 24 of the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup here on Thursday. The win sealed a place in the semifinals for the hosts.

Halliday struck an 84-ball 81 while Gaze played a cameo as New Zealand, chasing a revised target of 325 in 44 overs, managed to reach 271/8 after India rode on contrasting centuries by Smriti Mandhana (109 off 95 balls) and Pratika Rawal (122 off 134) and a blazing unbeaten 76 off 55 balls by Jemimah Rodrigues to post 340/3 in 49 overs.

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The match was disrupted twice by brief spells of rain, the first one after the 48th over in India’s innings, resulting in a one-hour break due to wet patches in the outfield, and the match was reduced to 49 overs. There was another interruption during the 10-minute mid-innings break, and the match was further reduced to 44 overs a side, with New Zealand set a revised target of 325.

But their chase failed to take off as Kranti Gaud sent back opener Suzie Bates for 1 in the second over when the batter swung at a wide delivery outside off, only for Pratika Rawal to grab a catch at point.

Georgia Plimmer (30) and Amelia Kerr (45) took the score past fifty inside the nine-over mandatory powerplay, with the former going after the bowlers aggressively, hitting back-to-back boundaries off Renuka Singh and a mighty six over wide long-on off Sneh Rana. The butter-fingered Indians dropped her twice, with Gaud grassing a caught-and-bowled chance. She was eventually cleaned up by Renuka Singh off a thick inside edge for 30 off 25 balls (5×4, 1×6).

New Zealand’s hopes rested on skipper Sophie Devine, their most experienced player, who will be retiring after the World Cup, but she did not survive for long, bowled by Renuka Singh with a nip-backer that beat the inside edge. Devine was out for six, and the White Ferns slumped to 59/3.

With the DLS equation changing with each falling wicket, Amelia Kerr tried to force the pace and took the score past the 100 mark. However, she was caught by Smriti Mandhana at short mid-wicket as she attempted to hit out at a tossed-up delivery outside off by Sneh Rana. New Zealand were 115/4 in the 21st over and looking in deep trouble. Amelia scored 45 off 53 balls (4×4) before getting out after getting set.

Brooke Halliday kept their hopes alive with a fighting half-century, reaching her fifty off 59 balls. But the going was slow for the White Ferns, with Deepti Sharma, Pratika Rawal and Shree Charani bowling tight spells.

Isabella Gaze hammered Kranti Gaud for back-to-back boundaries in the 34th over after surviving a couple of run-out attempts, the first one by millimetres off a direct hit by Jemimah from midwicket. She then struck fours on successive balls off Deepti Sharma, and Halliday clobbered a six over deep mid-wicket for 17 runs in the 35th over. But the White Ferns faced a mammoth task with 121 needed off 54 balls.

Halliday was caught by Sneh Rana off Shree Charani, miscuing an attempted big one to be caught at the long-on fence. Halliday’s vigil produced 81 runs off 84 balls (9×4, 1×6), and with that ended New Zealand’s hopes in the tournament.

Gaze scored her maiden ODI half-century off 39 balls (9×4) and remained unbeaten on 65 off 51 balls, but that was too late and too little.

Brief scores:
India 340/3 in 49 overs (Smriti Mandhana 109, Pratika Rawal 122, Jemimah Rodrigues 76 not out; Suzie Bates 1-40, Rosemary Mair 1-52)
New Zealand (revised target 325 in 44 ovs) 271/8 (Brooke Halliday 81, Isabella Gaze 65 not out, Amelia Kerr 45; Renuka Singh 2-25, Kranti Gaud 2-48)
Result: India won by 53 runs via the DLS method.