A wicket maiden from Twenty20 captain Sophie Devine, playing her 50th T20i for New Zealand, kept the WHITE FERNS in the game at a critical moment, but India clung on to win the final match of their Twenty20 International Series by three wickets in Bengaluru, India.
The WHITE FERNS ended their ground-breaking tour with a 2-1 Series victory, their first in any format in India, after six stumpings dominated proceedings in the finale at M.Chinnswamy Stadium.
Natalie Dodd is stumped. Copyright Photosport.nz
Sent in by Jhulan Goswami, who captained India in place of Mithali Raj, opener Suzie Bates top-scored for the WHITE FERNS with a 27-ball 34 and got the team off to a cracking start, with 15 off the first over. After opening partner Rachel Priest had been stumped for a quick 14 runs, Devine was typically explosive from the outset, peeling back to back sixes and a boundary off Harmanpreet Kaur, the team foundation well laid at 58/1 after five overs.
But after spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad (who went on to a career best 3-17 off four) delighted in Devine's wicket - stopped on a 13-ball 18 when she was caught by Bisht, Indian legspinner Poonam Yadav (2-16 off four) and fellow slow bowler Anuja Patel stepped up to turn the pressure on through the middle, wickets starting to clatter regularly from the ninth over, when Bates was lost to the second of four stumpings by Sushma Verma.
The WHITE FERNS' 100 had just been chalked on the board when Katie Perkins became the fourth stumping, Kate Broadmore helping push her side to 126/8 at the completion.
Chasing a run rate of 6.30, India got off to a shaky start as Priest whipped off the bails to have Smriti Mandhana walking back with a duck in the first over, bowled by Morna Nielsen. After her 41 in the previous match, Vellaswamy Vanitha was in good touch and took a six off Nielsen as she climbed to a 22-ball 28, before having her poles knocked over by Broadmore in the eighth over. Broadmore struck again with the last ball of the 10th to quickly remove Kaur, India 73/4 and needing just a further 54 off the back ten.
Veda Krishnamurthy top-scored for India with 34
But the experience of Devine and Bates with the ball made the task a challenge, India seven down after Devine turned up the tension in her last over with her wicket maiden, Patil caught by Amy Satterthwaite for a run-a-ball 22. Devine had already accounted for Veda Krishnamurthy, who provided firepower at five with a crucial 34 off 19 balls, including six fours.
It was a flicker of hope, but with just seven runs required off the last two overs fortune favoured India, Sushma Verma capping her good day out behind the stumps by blasting the winning boundary off Suzie Bates for a three-wicket win, with an over to spare.
Bates said the tour proved invaluable preparation for next year's ICC World Twenty20, which will also be held in India. "We're the only international team to play in India before then, so it's been great for the players to bank this experience in the heat and quite different conditions to those they are used to."
