India outclass NZ

The gap between the White Ferns and the big three in women’s cricket continues to widen, after India swept them aside in game one of the one-day international series last night.

In some eerie similarities with

24 hours previous at Napier’s McLean Park, a very polished Indian side overhauled New Zealand’s sub-par 192 with ease, winning by nine wickets with a mammoth 17 overs to spare.

India’s young opening pair Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues were outstanding in plundering 190, the fourth-highest women’s ODI opening stand, picking the gaps and punishing the short ball of which there were too many from the home bowlers.

It was batting of the highest quality as 22-year-old Mandhana notched her fourth ODI century,

105 off 104 balls, and 18-year-old Rodrigues backed her up with 81 not out. The White Ferns were outplayed in all facets, notably in the field where India were much sharper. The hosts have a mountain to climb to win this threematch series which continues at Mount Maunganui on Tuesday and Hamilton next Friday.

For the White Ferns and new captain Amy Satterthwaite it continued a worrying recent trend where they’ve cantered past the middle-of-the-road sides at home but been no match for England, Australia and India, the latter two helping bounce them out of last year’s World Twenty20 before the semifinals.

It’s been over a decade since New Zealand – World Cup finalists in 2009 – beat any of the big-three in a bilateral women’s ODI series. So much relies on Satterthwaite (31), Suzie Bates (36) and Sophie Devine (28) with the bat, and when that trio all departed relatively cheaply their targeted total of 250 was always a tall order after they were sent in.

India’s three spinners Sharma, Poonam Yadav and Ekta Bisht took eight wickets between them.