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Suzie Bates slams ton as New Zealand Women humble India in 1st ODI

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Suzie Bates slammed a century, while Amy Satterthwaite scored a half century as New Zealand Women defeated the Mithali Raj-led India by 62 runs in the opening One-day International (ODI) at the John Davies Oval to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series here on Saturday.

Put in to bat first, New Zealand openers Bates and Maddy Green put on a solid start, adding 54 runs for the first wicket. Bates (106 off 111 balls) took the initiative from the get-go and did the bulk of the scoring in the Powerplay as the hosts put up an imposing 275 in 48.1 overs. In reply, India were bundled out for 213 in 49.4 overs.

In New Zealand’s batting, the introduction of spin finally became the undoing for Green who was caught at slip off Deepti Sharma. While Bates soon got to her fifty, Amelia Kerr took up the role of the aggressor in her 39-ball 33 that included five boundaries. Eventually, Poonam Yadav got the better of her trying an expansive shot.

Amy Satterthwaite and Bate ensured that the wicket did not derail the innings and continued to punish the loose deliveries to keep the scoreboard ticking. Bates got to her 12th ODI century in the 36th over of the innings but fell in the very next over, holing out at deep mid-wicket, thus bringing to an end to her brilliant 98-run partnership with Satterthwaite.

Sophie Devine got a massive reprieve six balls into her innings after being dropped by Richa Ghosh but couldn’t make India pay for their mistake as she was back in the hut two overs later. New Zealand kept losing wickets at regular intervals in the death overs – 7 wickets in the last 8 overs – but Satterwaite’s 63 off 67 ensured the home side put up a respectable total. The White Ferns, who at one point were 204/2, were bundled out for 275.

India got off to a poor start in their chase of 276 and were left to play catchup from the very beginning. In the absence of Smriti Mandhana, Sabbhineni Meghana was handed her ODI debut after impressing in the one-off T20I. However, her form did not carry over across formats as she was caught at slips in the fifth over.

Four balls later, Devine trapped Shafali Verma in front of the stumps as India lost both their openers in consecutive overs.

Yastika Bhatia and Mithali Raj then came together to rebuild the innings and started to tee off towards the end of the Powerplay. They kept finding the boundaries with regularity but found it difficult to rotate strike as frequently.

They put on an 88-run partnership but the pressure of the scoreboard got to Bhatia, who in her effort to accelerate the scoring, picked out the fielder at deep square.

Mithali Raj got to her fifty, but with the required run rate at 7.5, was caught at point trying to take the aerial route. India soon lost half their side as Harmanpreet Kaur’s lean patch with the bat continued.

Still 137 runs away from victory in 105 balls at that point, India’s lower-order had an uphill task ahead of them. Richa Ghosh and Pooja Vastrakar chipped in with valuable 20s but only delayed the inevitable as India were bowled out for 213.

Jess Kerr stood out with a four-for, first breaking the back of the Indian innings with the wickets of Mithali and Harmanpreet, before wrapping up the game with two wickets in two balls.

Brief scores: New Zealand 275 in 48.1 overs (Suzie Bates 106, Amelia Kerr 33, Amy Satterthwaite 63; Jhulan Goswami 2/58) beat India 213 in 49.4 overs (Yastika Bhatia 41, Mithali Raj 59, Jess Kerr 4/35) by 62 runs.

International

CT 2025: India to take on Pakistan on Feb 23, likely to play in Colombo or Dubai: Sources

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New Delhi, Dec 19: The much-awaited clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan in the Champions Trophy 2025 will be played on February 23 with Colombo and Dubai front-runners to play host for India’s matches in the tournament being played in hybrid format. The development comes after the ICC Board said that “India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue.”

“India will take on Pakistan at a neutral venue on February 23, 2025. ICC looking at Colombo and Dubai to host their matches.”

The Champions Trophy is scheduled to be played in February and March 2025. Meanwhile, ICC said the schedule for the marquee tournament will be confirmed in the coming days.

Pakistan are the defending champions of the tournament, having defeated India by 180 runs in the final at The Oval in 2017. Both teams last played against each other in the T20 World Cup in New York earlier this year which India won by six runs and went on to claim their second silverware in the format.

Due to the strained political relations between the two neighbouring countries, India and Pakistan only play each other in international events including World Cups and Asia Cup. The last bilateral series between India and Pakistan was held in 2012-13 when the latter toured India for the five-match white-ball series.

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International

It’s OFFICIAL! All India vs Pakistan Matches At ICC Events To Be Played At Neutral Venue Till 2027

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India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue, the ICC Board confirmed on Thursday, 19 December. The schedule for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is set to be confirmed soon, with Pakistan aiming to defend the title they won in 2017.

The eight-team event will feature Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, and South Africa, alongside hosts Pakistan.

This will apply to the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 (hosted by Pakistan), set to be played in February and March 2025, as well as the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 (hosted by India) and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (hosted by India and Sri Lanka).

It was also announced that the PCB has been awarded hosting rights of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2028, where neutral venue arrangements will also apply. Cricket Australia is set to host one of the senior ICC women’s events during the period 2029 to 2031.

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‘Our dream is getting fulfilled’: Coach Sumit Bhatia elated to see Kho Kho going global

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New Delhi, Dec 16: Coach Sumit Bhatia is all pumped up for the first edition of the Kho Kho World Cup scheduled to take place from January 13-19, 2025. Bhatia, who holds a distinct record of being the only head coach to have won the Asian Championship twice, believes that this historical step is an indication of the realisation of the dream to take the sport to the international level and help it gain global recognition.

Having been honoured with the best coach award by the Delhi government, Bhatia has been a part of various Indian teams’ success, including the 2016 and 2023 Asian Kho Kho Championship victories, and has trained players like Nasreen Shaikh and Sarika Sudhakar Kale. Both of them have been Arjuna Awardees.

Nasreen, who is also a part of the World Cup camp, is the only player who has played in two Asian Championships and won the gold. The coach-student duo is now gearing up for the global event.

Sharing how the journey of Kho Kho World Cup’s inception, the coach said, “We organised an international camp here before COVID happened, in 2020. Coaches and players from 16 countries came here and we gave them training. Now they will be coming here for the World Cup but this campaign started in that camp”.

He further said, “Around 30-35 countries were willing to play the tournament but we picked the best 20 teams for both men and women. Some countries have single teams while some have double teams but a total of 24 countries will be participating in the tournament. It was our dream to take Kho Kho to the international level and now we can see that our dream is getting fulfilled.”

He also lauded the launch of the Ultimate Kho Kho League and shared how the franchise-based model has helped the players and coaches gain recognition, while also bringing forward grassroot talent.

“When the Ultimate Kho Kho league started, I also joined Telegu Yodhas as their head coach and we also played the final. Players have gotten exposure through the league and it’s not just financial. Earlier we used to hesitate while admitting being a Kho Kho coach but today our players introduce us as their coach,” said Bhatia.

He added, “The league got so much coverage that wherever we go, the players are approached for autographs. So the platform of the league started a new world for both coaches and players and now not just India but the entire world knows us. Earlier we used to tell people about our game but now they know what is Kho Kho and Ultimate Kho Kho league and are also waiting for the third season.”

Bhatia also discussed the impact of sports science on Kho Kho and lauded the newly introduced technology and said, “We have benefitted a lot from it. Sometimes we don’t understand why a player is not performing well. But with the introduction of sports science, we now know about the details of the problem.

“For example, a player might be facing issues with his left leg while sitting and so, it gives us an opportunity to work on that weakness… Sports science has helped us in identifying the accuracy and weakness of a player. So it’s very beneficial for us.”

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