India captain too hot for White Ferns

It’s not ideal to hit must-win territory in game two of a World Twenty20 but the White Ferns face that now after they were subdued by one of the great women’s T20 international innings.

Captain Amy Satterthwaite and her team will need to lift quickly for a big one against archrivals Australia on Wednesday or yet another world tournament will end in disappointment for them.

India’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur lived up to her star billing, crashing eight sixes in her knock of 103 off 51 balls as the White Ferns’ spin-heavy 194-5 at Guyana.

Despite Suzie Bates doing her best to match Kaur with 67 off 50, the task was too steep for New Zealand who replied with 160-9 for a 34-run defeat in the tournament opener.

‘‘We’ve got a little bit of time to re-set ourselves and have a really good think. We’ve got to do a lot of reflection on stuff that’s not working for us and come back better,’’ Satterthwaite said of another match against Australia who beat them 3-0 across the Tasman last month.

Satterthwaite, Bates and Sophie Devine had seen plenty of attack conceded Providence, Kaur in T20 competitions around the world but stopping her was another matter. She had blazed an unbeaten 171 against Australia in last year’s 50-over World Cup semifinal and arrived in the Caribbean as one of the tournament’s potential stars.

Spin was meant to be New Zealand’s strength on the low, slow Caribbean pitches but Jess Watkin (1-36 off three), Leigh Kasperek (1-28 off four), Amelia Kerr (0-36 off four) and Satterthwaite (18 off one over) all suffered as Kaur went from 51 to 103 in 4.4 overs. She charged and hit long and straight at will, finally dismissed by Devine off the second-last ball of the innings.