NZ-W vs IND-W , One-off T20I Prediction– Who will win the match?

Preview

The India women’s team would be locking horns with New Zealand women at John Davies Oval in Queenstown on Wednesday, February 9. Both teams will be playing just one T20I after which the focus shifts towards the five-match ODI series which would be a great practice ahead of the upcoming ICC Women’s World Cup 2021 that gets underway on March 4. While the Kiwis would be banking on home advantage, the Indian eves would be hoping to get accustomed to the conditions well in advance before the showpiece event.

India women’s side would be led by the limited-overs specialist batter Harmanpreet Kaur. While she could not make much impact for the national team in the last year having scored just 121 from six games, the power-hitter had an outstanding Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) season where she amassed 406 runs from 13 matches and would be in splendid form coming into this one-off T20I encounter. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side would be looking forward to making amends in the shortest format after having suffered a 0-3 whitewash against Australia Down Under a few months back.

Match Details

Venue: John Davies Oval, Queenstown

Date & Time: February 9th at 5:30 AM IST and 12:00 AM GMT

Live Streaming: The match will not be telecast live on TV but it can be live-streamed on the Amazon Prime Video app.

Pitch Report

The wicket would be very helpful to the bowlers and it would be challenging to face the batters to tackle the new ball. Any score in excess of 150 could be a competitive one. Therefore, the captain winning the toss would probably be looking to bowl first but, it should not be surprising if the team calling it right at the toss also decides to put runs on the board with the confidence of defending well in the second innings. It would be interesting to see how the New Zealand batters fare against the lethal spinners Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Ekta Bisht provided all of them are selected for Wednesday’s game.

Probable Playing XIs for NZ W vs IND W

IND W

Sneh Rana, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav

NZ W

Sophie Devine (c), Amy Satterthwaite (vc), Suzie Bates, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Katey Martin, Hannah Rowe, Lea Tahuhu, Lauren Down

NZ W vs IND W Head to Head

Played- 12, NZ W-8, IND W- 4

Probable Top Performers

Probable best batter of this match

Smriti Mandhana:

Smriti Mandhana who is also India’s vice-captain in T20Is was the team’s highest scorer in the format having amassed 255 runs averaging 31.87 at a strike rate of 131.44 in 2021. The southpaw scored two half-centuries from nine matches. The opener would once again be expected to provide the Indian eves with a brisk start by going after New Zealand’s new-ball bowlers right away.

Another interesting thing to be noted about the Sangli cricketer is that she has amassed 197 runs against the Black Caps from seven innings averaging 28.14. The elegant batter had participated in the WBBL and finished with 377 runs from 13 innings at an average of 34.27 for the Sydney Thunder.

Probable best bowler of the Match

Rajeshwari Gayakwad

Rajeshwari Gayakwad has been the best bowler for India Women and has registered nine scalps in her last seven appearances in the shortest format of the game at an economy rate of 6.00 and a strike rate of 16. The left-arm spinner would be expected to bamboozle the New Zealand batters especially between the powerplay and the middle overs.

She could also receive much-needed support from spin bowling partners Poonam Yadav and Ekta Bisht. In fact, the trio could also be seen working in tandem should they get to feature together.

Prediction: New Zealand women’s are expected to win the match

Disclaimer: This prediction is based on the understanding, analysis, and instinct of the author. While making your prediction, consider the points mentioned, and make your own decision.