Amelia Kerr (119*) and Maddy Green (52) starred with the bat as New Zealand defeated India by three wickets in the second ODI of the five-match series here at the John Davies Oval, Queenstown on Tuesday.
With this win, New Zealand has gained a 2-0 lead in the five-match series, and now the third ODI will be played on Friday. Chasing 271, New Zealand got off to a quickfire start as opening batters Sophie Devine and Suzie Bates put on 35 runs inside the first five overs, however, the stand was finally broken by Deepti Sharma as she sent Bates (16) back to the pavilion. Soon after, Devine (33) was dismissed by Rajeshwari Gayakwad and the hosts were reduced to 52/2 in the eighth over.
Deepti Sharma removed Amy Satterthwaite (0) on the batter’s very first ball and the White Ferns were in a spot of bother at 55/3, still needing 216 runs for the win. Amelia Kerr and Maddy Green then got together at the crease, and the duo revived the innings. At the halfway mark, New Zealand’s score read 135/3 with the hosts needing 136 more runs for the win.
Both batters put on 128 runs for the fourth wicket, and India finally got the breakthrough in the 34th over through Poonam Yadav as she sent Green (52) back to the pavilion. In the end, Kerr managed to take full control and New Zealand registered a three-wicket victory to gain a 2-0 series lead.
Earlier, Mithali Raj and Richa Ghosh played knocks of 66 and 65 respectively as India posted 270/6 in the allotted fifty overs. Opening batter Sabbhineni Meghana also impressed with her 49-run knock of just 50 balls with the help of seven boundaries.
Shafali Verma (24), Yastika Bhatia (31) also chipped in with the bat, while Harmanpreet Kaur’s poor run continued as she managed to score just 10 runs. For New Zealand, Sophie Devine returned with two wickets.
Brief Scores: India 270/6 (Mithali Raj 66*, Richa Ghosh 65; Sophie Devine 2-42); New Zealand 273/7 (Amelia Kerr 119*, Maddy Green 52; Deepti Sharma 4-52).