India bounced back strongly in their second Women’s World Cup warm-up match in Bengaluru, defeating New Zealand by four wickets after chasing down 237 with ten balls to spare. The victory came as a relief following their heavy loss to England in the opening game.
After a steady opening, India lost Pratika Rawal and Uma Chetry with the score at 71 for 2. Harleen Deol (74) and captain Harmanpreet Kaur (69) then anchored the innings, adding a match-defining 132-run partnership for the third wicket.
Harmanpreet reflected on the effort:
“𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒆.”
Although India suffered a late collapse, slipping from 203 for 2 to 230 for 6, they managed to close out the win with confidence.
New Zealand’s Effort with the Bat
Earlier, New Zealand, after opting to bat in a rain-shortened 42-over contest, were reduced to 38 for 2 inside eight overs. Skipper Sophie Devine (54) and Amelia Kerr (40) steadied the innings, guiding their side to 132 for 3 before finishing at 232 for 8.
India’s bowling unit responded well, with N Shree Charani taking three wickets, while Kranti Goud and Arundhati Reddy, returning after an injury scare, picked up two each.
Head coach Amol Muzumdar praised the team’s resilience:
“𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒇 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒎 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓.”
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