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New Zealand's Strategic Victory Over India Praised by Devine
New Zealand's Strategic Victory Over India Praised by Devine
New Zealand 160 for 4 (Devine 57*, Plimmer 34, Renuka 2-27) beat India 102 (Mair 4-19, Tahuhu 3-15, Carson 2-34) by 58 runs
Sophie Devine, the captain of New Zealand, praised her team's openers for helping them win by 58 runs against India in the first match of the Women's T20 World Cup. She said they had been planning for this game for almost a year.
The way the tournament is set up, with two teams from each group qualifying for the semifinals, the result of this match was very important. The big win over India gives New Zealand a big advantage early in the tournament.
Devine said they had been planning for this game for a long time and had gone into great detail about matchups and field placements. She explained why they placed a long off against Smriti Mandhana in the Powerplay. She said it was important for the bowlers to execute their plans.
She praised Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer for their 67-run partnership for the opening wicket. Devine also scored an unbeaten 57, which helped New Zealand reach a total of 160 for 4.
The victory ended New Zealand's 10-match losing streak in T20Is. However, Indian batter Jemimah Rodrigues said she was not surprised by their performance. She said India created opportunities but didn't make the most of them. She urged the team to move on from this loss and focus on their remaining matches.
With this loss, India are in a difficult position and need to win all three of their remaining games and hope for other results to go their way in order to qualify for the next round.