Ahmedabad: India and New Zealand were playing 3-match ODI series in India. India won the first ODI, and New Zealand bounced back pretty well in the second game to level the series. After the two matches the series levelled at 1-1, the third and final match was held on Tuesday (October 29, 2024) in Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first against India. After that, Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer gave a joint start for the New Zealand team.

But Bates ran out by Jemimah Rodrigues for 4 off 14 and Lauren Down was dismissed by the rookie bowler Saima Thakor in the next over for just 1 run. And then, Right-arm off-break bowler Priya Mishra dismissed Captain Sophie Devine for 9 off 11. Again, Priya Mishra removed Plimmer for 39 runs off 67 deliveries which included 6 fours.

After losing five early wickets, Brooke Halliday and Izabella Gaze were looking to help New Zealand settle into the game. Before that, Green was run out by Jemimah Rodrigues for 15 off 19. In the 39th over, Wicketkeeper Izabella Gaze was caught and bowled out by Deepti Sharma for 25 off 49. On the other side, Brooke Halliday who played aggressively in the middle order reached her half-century in 73 balls.

After that, Halliday was dismissed by Deepti Sharma for 86 runs off 96 deliveries which included 9 fours and 3 sixes. At last, Hannah Rowe was eventually trapped lbw by Deepti Sharma for 11, Eden Carson was removed by Renuka Singh for 2 and Fran Jonas ran out for 2 runs and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. But on the other hand, Lea Tahuhu secured 24* off 14 in the field.

Finally, the New Zealand women’s team lost all wickets in 49.5 overs and accumulated 232 runs. Chasing 233 runs, Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana gave a joint start for the Indian team. Both of them helped steady the run-chase which was always on the cards. But Shafali Verma was dismissed by Hannah Rowe for 12 runs. After that, India scored 40/1 in the Power play and Mandhana crossed fifty in the 13th over. Then, Mandhana and Yastika Bhatia added 76 runs for the second wicket partnership.

Yastika was caught and bowled by Sophie Devine for 35 off 49 which included 4 fours. But Mandhana found another winning partner Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur who blasted six fours in her knock and reached a strong position. Mandhana and Harmanpreet raised 117 runs for the third wicket partnership, virtually putting India on the verge of winning the match. Mandhana, who secured Century in 122 balls which included 10 fours but got out soon after, bowled by a Hannah Rowe slower one that stayed low and knocked back the middle stump.

On the other side, Harmanpreet, who reached her half-century off 53 balls and Jemimah Rodrigues was eventually trapped lbw by Fran Jonas for 22 off 18 which included 4 fours took them to 232 as India romped to victory. At last, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur hammered an unbeaten 59 off 63 deliveries came good to help India reach 236/4 in 44.2 overs and win the match with 34 balls remaining. Finally, India won their home ODI series against New Zealand by 2-1.