Kolkata: Amelia Kerr tried to resist with an unbeaten 23-ball 25 but disciplined bowling from India restricted New Zealand to 168 in their chase of an under-par 227 in the first ODI at Ahmedabad on Thursday. On debut, seamer Saima Thakor (2/26) removed the experienced Suzie Bates and Brooke Halliday with Radha Yadav accounting for three key wickets (3/35) that expedited New Zealand’s dismissal, giving India a comfortable 59-run victory.

New Zealand began with purpose but lack of partnerships meant they were not able to consolidate on the quick start. Three wickets were lost by the time they had reached 79, with captain Sophie Devine getting dismissed in bizarre fashion as she didn’t drag her feet behind the crease when Deepti Sharma threw the ball to wicketkeeper Yastika Bhatia.

Till Halliday and Maddy Green batted, adding 49 runs for the fifth wicket, New Zealand seemed on course for an easy win. But two wickets in the 30th over derailed their effort as India kept chipping away at their batting to make the equation too uphill for Kerr, who has been battling injury since New Zealand’s victorious T20 World Cup campaign last week. Halliday’s wicket was the breakthrough India needed, as Thakor held on to a return catch.

Three balls later, Green had a brain fade as she hesitated to get off to a single new batter Isabella Gaze had called for. Sensing an opportunity, Smriti Mandhana swooped on the ball at mid-on and threw it to the batter’s end, running Green out by at least a couple of yards. Gaze tried to hold one end as Kerr started dissecting the gaps and mounted a late counterattack. But it took India just five balls to take the last two wickets as New Zealand collapsed under the pressure.

India might have taken a 1-0 lead thanks to their bowling and the stop-start nature of the Ahmedabad pitch but the way they went about their batting still points to some burning concerns. Electing to bat, they ran into the Kerr sisters—Amelia (4/42) and medium pacer Jess (3/49)—who prevented India from building a good score. Smriti Mandhana, leading because Harmanpreet Kaur was rested due to a niggle, was dismissed in the third over.

Barring her and Dayalan Hemalatha though, all the other batters got starts though. Shafali Verma blazed to a 22-ball 33 before Yastika Bhatia scored 37. Deepti Sharma scored 41, Tejal Hasabnis–also on debut—impressed with 42 while Jemimah Rodrigues scored a breezy 35. But barring the 61-run fifth-wicket partnership between Rodrigues and Hasbnis, India couldn’t get another 50-run stand.

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