Devine excels as NZ women whitewash India

HAMILTON: Having sat out the first two T20Is, Mithali Raj made her comeback in the final match of the series against New Zealand.

However, her efforts to help carry India over the line in a chase of 162 failed: having started the final over needing 16, the visitors lost by two runs. New Zealand rode on the efforts of Sophie Devine - 72 and 2 for 21 - to clinch the last-ball thriller against a side had derailed their World T20 campaign last November, even as Smriti Mandhana’s second fifty of the series was in vain. Thus NZ women made clean sweep of the series 3-0.

India needed 60 off 49 when Raj walked in to bat at No. 5, after captain Harmanpreet Kaur fell for 2. Her batting partner Smriti Mandhana had galloped to 75 off 49 balls by then but her dismissal in the 16th over, with India needing 39 off 27, lifted New Zealand’s prospects. A 71-metre six from Deepti Sharma off legspinner Amelia Kerr in the next over, coupled with a four from Raj and a host of singles kept India’s chase on track.

However, Devine wrested some control in the penultimate over, conceding only seven runs. The India batsmen struck two fours and took a single within the first three balls of the final over, and needed seven off three to win.

India’s chase had appeared more in control during Mandhana’s innings, as she capitalized on a reprieve from Hayley Jensen who had been unable to get under a high catch near long-on, in the second over.

Mandhana matched trademark suave with her benign belligerence thereafter, bringing up her ninth T20I fifty, off 33 balls. Her 62-ball blitz included one six and 12 fours, and she scored six of those fours against the offspinners Kasperek and Rosemary Mair, taking three boundaries off each in the third and tenth over respectively.

However, 14 shy of a maiden T20I ton, Mandhana holed out cover off Devine.

Scores: New Zealand 161 for 7 (Devine 72, Satterthwaite 31, Deepti 2-28) beat India 159 for 4 (Mandhana 86, Raj 24*, Deepti 21*, Devine 2-21) by two runs.