END OF OVER:20 | 15 Runs 1 Wkt | NZ-W: 191/5 | RR: 9.55
- Amelia Kerr68 (33b)
- Jess Kerr1 (1b)
- Deepti Sharma4-0-49-1
- Renuka Singh4-0-33-2
Sudarshanan who did such an amazing job in the morning with the build-up to the game will take you through the chase. Over to him as I sign off for the day.
Mark: "Amelia Kerr - 287 runs at an average of 143.5. She's scored over 100 runs more than any other player in either team in this series. There's daylight between her batting figures and anyone else. Also only one India batter in this series has a strike rate of 100 or more whereas NZ have 6. A key difference. India will need to change that to have any chance in this chase."
Tushar: "@Prashant - Remember Indian women are competing with the best in business in their own backyard. It's not been even five years that India has emerged as a strong force in Women's cricket. No one gave them a chance to progress beyond the group stages in 2017 World Cup and they defied all expectations to just fall short of a memorable World Cup title. The expectations have grown pretty quickly since then, some of them even unrealistic. "
Sanjeev : "Looked again at Amelia Kerr boundaries, nothing to take away from her but all the boundary balls had same length and line and hit for onside boundaries!! No thoughts by India to change the line or length… lacking leadership…looks like on autopilot regardless how are you being hit.."
Amy Satterthwaite: I think I took a leaf out of Lea's book. Suzie and Sophie, the way the batted at the top set the platform and allowed me to take a few balls to get in and then be aggressive later on. Allows Amelia to bat deeper as well and just take the game on. The coaches got us to stay at the total when there was rain around, we came straight into the game rather than sitting around all morning and stressing about it. Apparently Sophie and Suzie were talking about 140 at one point, I think we have surpassed that a little bit. We know we have to bowl well against a quality Indian lineup and it's certainly not over yet.
Rohith: "Ind needs to have a pool of fast bowlers when playing away from home. What you've got is a legend like Anderson at one end and a newbie at the other. You can't win matches by just filling with spinner overs, let alone the cup."
Bala: "@ Prashant: To up our skills with regard to fielding, we need an agile coach who can sprint with the team. Not sure if we have any specialist fielding coach as part of the team or it is under the responsibility of Ramesh Powar only which could be vulnerable. It was a weak area for the men's team also before, but the focus on fielding through specialised approach helped them to attain the current level of fitness and aggression on the field including the positive Kohli impact or influence."
Kapil Baldawa: "The captain and VC for the day had no clue as to what needs to be done. Its sorry state of affairs that after so much experience, Mithali can't even reign in runs nor go for wickets. Seriously poor bowling and field placements. Kerr had all the time to chose her options and go big. Ridiculous to say the least. Sad to see that Indian team is going backwards instead of getting better. Powar wasn't good as a player and is very ordinary as coach too"
5:10pm: New Zealand have a very good score on this pitch. What an innings from Amelia Kerr - she was outstanding with her slogsweeps and sweeps, and with her laps and scoops. She did not miss out on the off-side as well. Her innings really pushed the total over the 180 mark. Earlier, Bates and Devine laid the platform with a 53-run stand before Kerr took over. Satterthwaite played a nice cameo with a 200 strike-rate and even though Mackay struggled, Kerr just kept finding the boundaries. Apart from the brilliant catch by Mandhana at backward point, India's fielding was poor. They dropped a couple of catches and their outfielding was sloppy. A tall chase but they have Mandhana in their ranks today up the order. Back for it in 10 minutes...
Prashant: "@Tushar India not travelling enough is no excuse for their continually declining fielding and their attitude towards it. It's no excuse to the bizarre decisions made by management. I can agree to batsman or bowler not adjusting quickly. But more than that we lost against Aussies or here in few matches mostly because of our catching and missing run out chances and game awareness."
Srividhya: "The team is going through a transition which will take time. Reliance on Mithali and Jhulan need to be curtailed and their absence after a period which is not far away need to be handled. Batting seem to have picked up, the real focus need to be on pace bowling and fielding which is pulling the team badly. Ramesh Powar lacks the skills/experience to build the team through challenges. Mithali is under pressure too with a streak of losses and unable to influence the team performance."
LR Down b Sharma 5 (4m 4b 1x4 0x6) SR: 125.00
END OF OVER:19 | 13 Runs 1 Wkt | NZ-W: 176/4 | RR: 9.26
- Amelia Kerr54 (29b)
- Lauren Down5 (3b)
- Renuka Singh4-0-33-2
- Rajeshwari Gayakwad4-0-26-1
Sabari : "Deepti Sharma VC? Why not Smriti Mandhana, who was not long ago supposed to be groomed as future captain. Each and every decision by this management is getting more and more bizzarre "
Raj: "If India were to have any chance at WC, they better not line up any player who cannot sprint or dive. put all players on notice as to what sort of fitness is expected. there is just no way india can win without better fitness. None. "
Mike: "@Sahil it's not so much that Mackay is a bad batter, she opens for Canterbury. It's just that she is more of an accumulator, rather than a power hitter. Someone like Jess Kerr or Katey Martin should have come in instead of Mackay."
FL Mackay b Renuka Singh 7 (21m 16b 0x4 0x6) SR: 43.75
Tushar: "Indian Women don't travel often. And also visitor teams find it tough to adjust to conditions in New Zealand. Ground sizes and breeze factor dictate the field layouts. Many men's teams have been found out in those conditions, most recently South Africa. In women's cricket, Australia, New Zealand, and England are fiercely strong teams. White Ferns playing at home was surely an added advantage for them. "
Rahul: "Wow! Amelia - turning out to be a fan to an extent only matched only for Sarah Taylor. But yes, you are just feeding some to use you as an excuse for why India is not WINNING this series. Alas!"
END OF OVER:18 | 7 Runs | NZ-W: 163/3 | RR: 9.05
- Frances Mackay7 (15b)
- Amelia Kerr49 (27b)
- Rajeshwari Gayakwad4-0-26-1
- Sneh Rana3-0-25-0
Sahil: "I feel as though Frankie MacKay isnt a good enough batter for the number 5 position, she's come in at the death and going at a strike rate of 50, putting huge pressure on kerr"
END OF OVER:17 | 11 Runs | NZ-W: 156/3 | RR: 9.17
- Amelia Kerr43 (24b)
- Frances Mackay6 (12b)
- Sneh Rana3-0-25-0
- Rajeshwari Gayakwad3-0-19-1