The difference between the New Zealand and Indian spinners was experience. The difference between India and New Zealand though was Harmanpreet Kaur. The Indian captain smashed her maiden T20 ton – the first by an Indian woman in T20Is – off 49 balls to lift India to their highest total in the T20 World Cup of 194 for 5, which turned out to be way too many for the White Ferns as India got off to a winning start in the tournament opener at Guyana.
Chasing a record target for victory, New Zealand did get off to a good start with openers Suzie Bates and Anna Patterson but once the Indian spinners got their lengths right, the New Zealand Women had no answer. Debutant Hemalatha got the first breakthrough by removing Patterson for 14 and then leggie Poonam Yadav struck twice in two balls to suck the wind out of the New Zealand’s chase.
Former New Zealand captain and now the highest scorer in Women’s T20 World Cup, Bates, did her best to unsettle the Indian spinners by sometimes shuffling towards the off stump or taking guard in the fifth stump but the scoreboard pressure and the guile of the Indian spinners was way too much. Once she was dismissed for 67, New Zealand had no chance of reaching the target.
Wicket-keeper Katey Martin delayed the inevitable with her cameo but India prevailed in the end, restricting New Zealand to 160 for 9. Along with the accuracy of the Indian spinners, their catching was impeccable too.
The victory was set-up by one of the best T20 knocks in women’s cricket.
Harmanpreet was in a different zone, something similar to what she was in the semi-final of the 2017 Women’s ODI World Cup against Australia, or perhaps even better, bashing the bowlers to all parts of the ground.
29-year Harmanpreet reached the three-figure mark in 49 balls, punishing the New Zealand bowlers with eight sixes and seven fours. The skipper led by example after India were struggling at 40 for three.
Opting to bat after the coin landed in her favour at the Providence Stadium, Harmanpreet was required to walk into the middle early, at the fall of debutant Dayalan Hemalatha's wicket in only the sixth over.
Jemimah Rodrigues too struck a brisk 59 off 45 balls with the help of seven boundaries. In the process, Rodrigues, just 18, became the youngest player to score a fifty in Word T20 tournament.
India were in a spot of bother when Hemalatha was dismissed, and another wicket would have only added to their worry.
However, Harmanpreet and Jemimah had other ideas, adding 134 runs for the fourth wicket in around 13 overs, which included a phase when India scored 56 runs in five overs.
Harmanpreet, whose scintillating 171 against Australia in the World Cup semifinal last year remains fresh in the memory, looked comfortable from the word go and, in the company of Jemimah, built the innings with consummate ease.
Harmanpreet got into the mode with two sixes off Jess Watkin in the 10th over, as India reached 76 for the loss of three wickets. Her team added a staggering 118 runs in last 10 overs, thanks to a flurry of boundaries and sixes by Harmanpreet.
The big-hitting Harmanpreet played shots on all sides of the wicket and was most effective towards the long-off, long-on and the deep mid-wicket region.
The 100-run partnership was up in quick time after the duo scored 16 runs in one of the overs in the back 10. That was just one of the big overs for the team.
Having cleared the fence eight times, Kaur now has the most number of sixes for India in a T20 innings, beating her own record of, five set against Sri Lanka in September this year