Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur came up with remarkable knocks to help India defeat New Zealand by six wickets. After levelling the three-match series 1-1, India and newly-crowned T20 World Champions New Zealand clashed against each other in the third and final match on Tuesday, October 29. In the game that took place at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, New Zealand skipper Sophe Devine won the toss and invited the rivals to field first.
The Indians got off to a favourable start as the Kiwi batters lost their first wicket in the form of Suzie Bates within the first seventh over. Lauren Down was next to depart on one run in five balls The Kiwis were soon reduced to 36 for 3 in 10.4 overs as skipper Sophie Devine departed for nine runs. Brooke Halliday tried to find some stability for the side and played an excellent knock of 86 runs for 96 balls with a combination of nine fours and three maximums.
Deepti Sharma scalped three wickets for India and Priya Mishra picked two wickets while Saima Thakor and Renuka Singh picked one wicket each as New Zealand posted 232 runs in 49.5 overs. In return, opener Smriti Mandhana took control of the game right from the beginning as the other end found it difficult to find stability. Mandhana came up with a brilliant century and played a knock of 100 runs for 122 deliveries. The 28-year-old batter recorded her eighth ODI century.
Apart from Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur pulled off a remarkable fifty and came up with a knock of 59* runs to help the side cruise past the victory line as India chased the score with 28 balls to spare. The Kiwi bowling lineup seemed to have struggled as Hanna Rowe, Fran Jonas and Sophie Devine were the only wicket-takers for their side. India recorded a six-wicket win to clinch the series 2-1.