White Ferns complete series sweep

AUCKLAND: The White Ferns finished off an impressive series sweep over India with another thrilling victory in the third and final twenty20 at Seddon Park in Hamilton yesterday.

Once again, the game came down to the final ball, and this time Leigh Kasperek’s winning contribution came with the ball rather than the bat — restricting India’s Mitahili Raj to just a single when she needed a boundary for victory.

That secured a 30 series triumph which seemed unlikely after India had looked potent during its ODI series victory.

However, after some unimpressive batting displays during that series, the White Ferns stepped up in the shorter format, notched a challenging 161 for seven batting first yesterday afternoon.

Sophie Devine was the star for the home side, blasting 72 from 52 balls at the top of the order. The powerful allrounder struck eight fours and two sixes in her knock.

Her stand with captain Amy Satterthwaite pair added 71 for the third wicket as the skipper contributed 31 from 23 balls.

It did not look like enough when Indian superstar Smriti Mandhana smoked 86 from 62 balls as India cruised through to 91 for two at the halfway point of the chase. She struggled for support though, and with Amelia Kerr (one for 26) and Devine two for 21) exceptionally economical in their four overs apiece, the required run rate crept back up.

Devine paid credit to her teammates’ resolve when it looked like the contest might have got away from them.

‘‘It was actually pretty tough going. When Smriti came out she actually made it look pretty easy. Credit to them and credit to the girls for sticking with it.

‘‘ I think we saw in the first game how quickly a twenty20 match can change so we knew we just needed to stick with it. Another great contest with the Indian side.’’ — NZME