LIVE: India in huge trouble against impressive New Zealand

Match Centre and Scorecard

India were reduced to 43/3 at the end of the powerplay, with plenty of work still to do in reply to New Zealand’s excellent 160/4.

Eden Carson did the damage early on, removing both openers, taking a return catch to dismiss Shafali Verma (2) and having Smriti Mandhana caught at long-on for 12.

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur looked in good touch as she led the recovery, but fell at the back-end of the powerplay when she was trapped in-front by Rosemary Mair.

And wickets continued to fall, as Jemimah Rodrigues’ promising knock came to an abrupt end when she was caught for 13(11), leaving e India needing their middle order to pull off a rescue job.

Earlier, Sophie Devine’s brilliant half-century steered New Zealand to the biggest total of the tournament so far, as the White Ferns reached 160/4 under the lights of the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer set the platform with a 67-run opening stand, before Devine (57*) carried on the momentum in an innings that saw dropped catches and a contested dead-ball decision.

Renuka Singh was the pick of the bowlers for India with 2/27, but a target of 161 will test India’s batting line-up.

The story of the first innings

New Zealand won the toss and captain Sophie Devine opted to bat first in Dubai’s first evening game.

And that decision was vindicated by a superb powerplay, with the White Ferns openers putting on 55 runs in the first six overs and benefitting from some poor fielding from India.

Arundhati Reddy thought she’d picked up the wicket of Suzie Bates when the veteran skied a catch to the back-tracking Richa Ghosh, only for the keeper to put the chance down.

But the damage wasn’t too great, with Reddy getting Bates in her next over, with the opener holing out for 27 off 24 balls.

And one wicket soon brought two, as Sobhana Asher ended Georgia Plimmer’s sparkling knock of 34 (23).

A solid partnership between captain Sophie Devine and Melie Kerr looked to have come to an end when India appealed for a run out as the batters looked to take a second run, but the umpires ruled that the ball had been dead and not out was the call, prompting lengthy discussions between the players and officials on the field.

That incident had little bearing ultimately, with Kerr (13) departing two balls later when she picked out Pooja Vastrakar off the bowling of Renuka Singh.

But the runs kept on flowing for the Kiwis, with Devine finding the boundary time and again in a brilliant half-century that set her side up beautifully.

Brooke Halliday added 16 runs with a lively cameo, and Maddy Green (5*) found the boundary late on as New Zealand reached 160/4.

This match is the opening game of the tournament for both teams, with India and New Zealand joined in Group A by defending champions Australia, Asia Cup winners Sri Lanka, and opening-day victors Pakistan.

Neither side has ever won a Women’s T20 World Cup, but both have reached finals in the past, with New Zealand finishing runners up in 2009 and 2010, and India beaten in the 2020 final.

The Teams

India: 1 Smriti Mandhana, 2 Shafali Verma, 3 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 4 Jemimah Rodrigues, 5 Richa Ghosh (wk), 6 Deepti Sharma, 7 Arundhati Reddy, 8 Pooja Vastrakar, 9 Shreyanka Patil, 10 Asha Sobhana, 11 Renuka Singh

New Zealand: 1 Suzie Bates, 2 Georgia Plimmer, 3 Amelia Kerr, 4 Sophie Devine (capt), 5 Brooke Halliday, 6 Maddy Green, 7 Isabella Gaze (wk), 8 Jess Kerr, 9 Rosemary Mair, 10 Lea Tahuhu, 11 Eden Carson