India couldn’t have asked for a better start to the five-match ODI series against New Zealand that commenced at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Sunday. A rearguard action with Jhulan Goswami wielding a punishing bat and then a stifling exposition of spin that choked the visitor helped Mithali Raj’s spirited bunch win the first game by 17 runs.
The victory must have lifted India’s spirits as previously New Zealand held a marginal edge, thanks to it being a slot above in the ICC rankings. The visitors also had the added clout of a 97-run win against India ‘A’ in a recent warm-up fixture.
That bit of history has been countered and Mithali would love to multiply the advantage when the squads square up in the second game on Wednesday.
Eyeing a landmarkMithali is 95 short of 5,000 ODI runs, and when she reaches the landmark she will be only the second woman after England’s Charlotte Edwards to do so.
There could be a feel-good vibe, but India’s batting slump in the opening clash cannot be ignored. At one stage the score read 71 for seven and thankfully Jhulan’s 57 prevented the host’s capitulation.
The top and middle orders have to click and that can only help spinners Harmanpreet Kaur, Sneh Rana and Ekta Bisht, who together accounted for seven wickets to derail New Zealand.
Prior to the last game, New Zealand captain Suzie Bates had stressed on the need to hit down the ground and conserve wickets.
It is a matter of conjecture whether her team got fixated with that idea, as during the chase they managed just six runs from the first six overs! And once the required rate galloped, the batters had no answers against spin.
It is still a long series, though, and New Zealand will fancy its chances of coming back while India will not want to ease the pressure. “To hell with circumstances, I create opportunities,” reads Mithali’s status message on WhatsApp and it would be wonderful if her team could also embrace that philosophy.
