Dubai, Oct 4 (IANS) Coming into the Women’s T20 World Cup, New Zealand had lost 10 T20Is in a row. But when it mattered the most, they rose to be top-class in all departments to hammer a listless India by 58 runs in a Group A match of the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup at the Dubai International Stadium on Friday.

After Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer gave New Zealand a brilliant start through a 67-run partnership, captain Sophie Devine applied strong finishing touches by hitting seven boundaries – mixed with sheer power and good placement – in her unbeaten 36-ball 57 at a strike-rate of 158.33 – as they posted 160/4 on a sticky pitch.

Chasing 161, which would have been India’s most successful chase in the tournament’s history, the side never got going and fell like nine pins to be bowled out for 102 in 19 overs. No batter went past 15 as Rosemary Mair took 4-19, while Lea Tahuhu picked 3-15 and Eden Carson broke the game open by getting the Indian openers in the first four overs.

The big margin of defeat serves as a serious blow to India's hopes of reaching the semifinals. India suffered an early blow in the chase as Shafali Verma went for a flick off Eden, but got a leading edge to give the spinner an easy return catch. Smriti Mandhana was next to fall in the fourth over – dancing down the pitch to go big, but holed out to long-off to become Eden’s second wicket.

Rosemary Mair found some good swing and was rewarded for it when her sharp inswinger trapped Harmanpreet Kaur lbw for 15. The Indian skipper took a review, but replays showed the ball just clipping leg-stump on umpire’s call.

Richa Ghosh was beaten for pace on her first ball but survived as replays showed the ball going over stumps, as India ended their Power-play at 43/3. With New Zealand keeping things tight, Jemimah Rodrigues fell in a bid to break the shackles – chipping to mid-on off an outside off delivery from Lea Tahuhu.

There was some sloppy cricket in between - Deepti being dropped on zero by Brooke Halliday and Richa Ghosh not going for a single despite her lofted drive falling short of long-off. India’s slide continued when Richa tried to close her bat-face early, but got a leading edge and was caught by mid-off on a slower ball from Lea.

From there, the result was a foregone conclusion, as the rest of the batters fell without doing much to reduce the margin of defeat in a comprehensive hammering for India, as the White Ferns shined bright at the Ring of Fire in Dubai’s cool evening.

Brief scores:

New Zealand 160/4 in 20 overs (Sophie Devine 57 not out, Georgia Plimmer 34; Renuka Singh Thakur 2-27) beat India 102 all out in 19 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 15; Rosemary Mair 4-19, Lea Tahuhu 3-15) by 58 runs