New Zealand 365 for 4 (Bates 108, Bezuidenhout 86, Kerr 83, Devine 70, Sandhu 1-52) beat Pakistan 234 (Ameen 105, Muneeba 44, Kerr 3-44, Tahuhu 2-45) by 131 runs
A powerful batting display by New Zealand’s top four set up a big win for them in the first ODI against Pakistan in Queenstown, as they went 1-0 up in the three-match series. Pakistan went down by 131 runs chasing a big target of 366.
The result aside, Pakistan were also
dealt a double blow with fast bowler Diana Baig ruled out of the series with a training injury, and captain
Nida Dar taken off the field during the game after she was struck in the face while bowling.
After being put in, New Zealand openers
Suzie Bates and
Bernadine Bezuidenhout got off to a steady start, putting up 51 runs in the powerplay. They then started accelerating and found the boundary regularly to take New Zealand’s total past 100 without any blemish. Bezuidenhout brought up her half-century off 50 balls in the 18th over, while Bates got to her fifty off 57 balls in the 22nd over. A run-out ended Bezuidenhout’s stay a the crease for a run-a-ball 86, Pakistan finally ending the 165-run stand.
Amelia Kerr joined Bates and the two made sure the momentum did not slip, as they continued to pile on the runs. Together, they took New Zealand past 200, with Bates bringing up her century with a boundary in the 38th over. She was, however, dismissed in the very next over by Umm-e-Hani for 108.
Shortly after, in the 44th over, Dar, who was bowling her seventh over of the match, was struck on the face by the ball when Devine was on strike. She received medical attention on the field before being taken off, putting her participation in the second and third games of the series in doubt.
Captain
Sophie Devine and Kerr then took charge of proceedings. Devine shifted gears in the 47th over – until then not a single six had been hit in the innings – as she hit Fatima Sana for two sixes in the over. In the next over, she took apart Omaima Sohail, plundering four sixes in a 27-run over. In the process, she also brought up her half-century off 29 balls.
Kerr fell for a 69-ball 83, as she consolidated her position as the top run-getter in ODIs this year: this was her fourth 50-plus score of the year and she has made 460 runs in seven innings so far. Devine was out for a 36-ball 70 in the penultimate ball of the innings, as New Zealand made 365 for 4, which is the highest total in women’s ODIs in New Zealand. It was also the first time in women’s ODIs that all of the top-four batters of a side scored 70 runs or more.
Full report to follow…
