Last-ball win clinches T20 series
The White Ferns had to hold their nerve to win their Twenty20 series against India.
Former captain Suzie Bates led the way with 62 off 52 balls, while current skipper Amy Satterthwaite made 23 off 20 as they chased down 136 at Eden Park in Auckland to take a 2-0 lead.
Their pursuit came down to the final over, where nine were needed, and Katey Martin began with a four, but was bowled by seamer Mansi Joshi the next ball.
A two to Hannah Rowe, with the second stolen following a rebound off the stumps came next, then a single, then another single to Leigh Kasperek, and another to Rowe sealed the result.
The four-wicket win secured the three-match series for the White Ferns, who won the first match in Wellington on Wednesday by 23 runs in dramatic fashion.
Opening with Bates, Sophie Devine helped the White Ferns get off to a fast start, making 19 off 16 balls before she was bowled by Radha Yadav.
Katie Gurrey then came and went for four, bringing Satterthwaite to join Bates.
The White Ferns were 62-2 at the halfway stage, but the experienced duo were able to accelerate their scoring and take control of the game.
Bates won a battle with Radha Yadav in the 13th over, taking eight off it, then brought up her half century in the next over, where she and Satterthwaite added 11, bringing the required run rate down to almost a run a ball.
The pair also brought up their 50-run partnership in the 14th over, off 39 balls, and extended it to 61 in the following over, before Poonam Yadav got Satterthwaite out caught.
Bates then fell with 18 required off 16 balls, and there was a further stumble as Anna Peterson was caught in the deep for a golden duck, Arundhati Reddy making the crucial breakthrough.
Katey Martin and Leigh Kasperek only managed five off the penultimate over, leaving the Ferns needing nine off the last.
Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues starred for India, just as they did in the first T20 but while they combined to score 108 runs, nobody else managed more than six as the visitors made 135-6 from their 20 overs.
Mandhana and Rodrigues shared in a partnership of 63 off 46 balls for the second wicket before Rosemary Mair struck in the 10th over, getting Mandhana to offer up a catch to Suzie Bates when she was on 36 off 27 balls.
Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur came and went cheaply, caught by her White Ferns opposite Satterthwaite off the bowling of Kasperek for five, and there was a further setback when Dayalan Hemalatha suffered a shoulder injury diving for the crease and had to retire hurt having scored just two. Eighteen-year-old Rodrigues was almost single-handedly pushing India towards a competitive total, making 72 off 53 balls before she was stumped by Martin off Amelia Kerr’s bowling in the penultimate over.
India had made 71 off 58 balls when Mandhana departed, but only added 64 off the final 62 as no-one was able to offer Rodrigues any significant support.
Mair was the pick of the White Ferns’ bowlers in her second international, taking 2-17 off her four overs, including the scalp of Mandhana. The series ends at Seddon Park in Hamilton tomorrow. Short scoreboard: India 135-6 (Jemimah Rodrigues 71 off 58, Smriti Mandhana 36 off 26; Rosemary Mair 2-17 off 4) lost to the White Ferns 136-6 (Suzie Bates 62 off 52, Amy Satterthwaite 23 off 20; Arundhati Reddy 2-22 off 4, Radha Yadav 2-23 off 4) by four wickets.
It was a stark contrast from two years ago, McCaw’s first appearance in the Kathmandu Coast to Coast, where he lined up in the mountain run, and cut both legs after slipping on rocks and required stitches upon finishing.
‘‘It went pretty well in terms of we got here and we didn’t hurt ourselves,’’ McCaw said.
‘‘It wasn’t as quick as we perhaps had in mind. Some days are like that. It’s just good we made it.’’
McCaw wasn’t feeling his best throughout the day, but he and Nichol managed to push through. They were reluctant to offer up a target time before the race, but were content not to come unstuck through the rugged Deception Valley boulders.
‘‘I thought we might have been a little quicker if we’d been feeling a bit better, but it was what it was. Couldn’t have gone any quicker I tell you,’’ McCaw said.
Good friends McCaw and Nichol, who are competing under the moniker ‘Best Foot Forward’, have also featured together in the Godzone and Defiance adventure races.
The tandem event involves both competitors doing the entire course over two days together, staying within 50 metres of each other on the bike and run sections while paddling the Waimakariri River leg together in a double kayak.
McCaw, Nichol and the rest of the two-day tandem competitors will head off early today to knock off the 15.5km cycle, 70km kayak and then jump back on their bikes for the final 69.5km cycle to New Brighton Beach in Christchurch.
Having only done the mountain run two years ago, McCaw said yesterday’s cycle was a new experience. ‘‘It was the first time I’ve been in a bunch like that properly.
‘‘It was something a bit different. It was quite good. We were hustling along at a pretty good pace. Sitting in there and getting a bit of a free ride was pretty good.’’
ON THE HUNT