A poor batting performance by India saw them going down against New Zealand by 62 runs in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in Hamilton on Thursday.

All-rounder Pooja Vastrakar starred with the ball, claiming four wickets to help India restrict the hosts New Zealand to 260 for 9 but India’s batters never got going in their reply. This was New Zealand’s first win against India at an ICC world event since the 2010 World T20.

India lost star opener Smriti Mandhana early and had only reached 50/3 after 20 overs. The ball did seem to stop a bit on the wicket but NZ had found a way to score some good runs earlier in the day. One might argue that India’s batters just didn’t show enough adventure early in the chase.

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NZ employed Test match-type fields and India’s batters were unable to pierce through the infield or go over it. The pressure kept piling up and eventually, it led to wickets. Amelia Kerr and Lea Tahuhu dominated the wickets column with three wickets apiece.

The only bright spot for India, on the batting front, was Harmanpreet Kaur, who made 71 off 63 balls. She ran out of partners in the end and perished while going for another big shot.

Earlier, Vastrakar bowled a brilliant spell giving away 34 runs in her 10-over quota while snaring four wickets, including the important scalps of skipper Sophie Devine (35) and Amy Satterthwaite (75). She was unlucky to miss out on a hat-trick in the 47th over.

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Spinners Rajeshwari Gayakwad (2/46) and Deepti Sharma (1/52) claimed three wickets between them while veteran pacer Jhulan Goswami (1/41) accounted for one batter.

For New Zealand, Satterthwaite (75 off 84) and Amelia Kerr (50 off 64) scored half-centuries, while Katey Martin pitched in with a valuable 41 to power the hosts to a 250 plus score.

Brief Scores:

New Zealand: 260 for 9 in 40 overs (Amy Satterthwaite 75, Amelia Kerr 50; Pooja Vastrakar 4/34)

India: 198 all out in 46.4 overs (Harmanpreet 71, Mithali 31; Tahuhu 3/17)