Key events
30th over: India 188-0 (Pratika 75, Smriti 98) Devine calls up her trusty war horse Suzie Bates to have a go. Now even the immaculate fielding is starting to wilt as Smriti slots four between two immobile bodies.
29th over: India 181-0 (Pratika 75, Smriti 91) Smriti grabs a handful of salt and scrubs it into the raw wound. A one-kneed six cracked up and into the night, the next, also on one knee, swept down to the rope. Kerr ia unimpressed.
28th over: India 170-0 (Pratika 75, Smriti 80) Tahuhu continues to feel the heat as Pratika flays her past point and a sprawling fielder for one four, past midwicket for another.
27th over: India 161-0 (Pratika 66, Smriti 79) New Zealand break through! – no, they don’t. Smriti looks stone-dead lbw to Milie Kerr but but choses to review Sue’s raised finger, because why not, and DRS finds a slither of an inside edge. The news surprises Smriti, already walking off, as much as it does Kerr, who shrugs her shoulders in disbelief.
26th over: India 155-0 (Pratika 64, Smriti 76) Smriti crouches down by her stumps – the humidity is starting to tell here – the boundary fielders constantly sipping from drinks. Tahuhu returns and starts her second spell with a wide. Then Pratika parries one angled into her pads with a wristy steer for four.
25th over: India 147-0 (Pratika 58, Smriti 75) At half way, New Zealand are yet to take a wicket and India are steaming across the ocean and far away. Pratika with the dancing feet this time, four lofted over mid on. More quick drinks.
24thover: India 140-0 (Pratika 52, Smriti 74) Another Smriti four, as she leans back and caresses the ball away. Devine tries to stem the flow with a short ball but it drifts leg side for a wide.
Ffity for Pratika
23rd over: India 132-0 (Pratika 50, Smriti 69) Smriti opens her eyes wide and, twinkling of toe, pulls Mair across the grass and over the rope. A nipped single brings Pratika her second fifty of the World Cup and the over finishes with four more for Smriti, a wayward delivery nudged past the keeper.
22nd over: India 121-0 (Pratika 48, Smriti 60) Pratika contemplates a scoop, but changes her mind at the last second, grounded to the crease. Just three singles from Devine’s over.
21st over: India 118-0 (Pratika 46, Smriti 59) Mair returns to try and break this dangerous partnership. No cigar, but no boundaries either. The ground is alive with the Mexican wave. And a stat for you: Smriti and Pratika have the most runs by an opening pair in ODIs since 2024.
20th over: India 113-0 (Pratika 43, Smriti 58) A run rate of four from the first ten overs became 7.5 from overs ten to 20. Eight off Carson’s fourth over, including a four from Smriti, inelegant by her standards, but does the job.
19th over: India 107-0 (Pratika 42, Smriti 52) Jess Kerr starts her over with a no ball but the free hit brings naught as Pratika finds the cover fielder. A sharp bit of fielding by Halliday in the ring cuts off a boundary. Five singles
Fifty for Smriti Mandhana!
18th over: India 102-0 (Pratika 40, Smriti 50) Smriti brings up the century partnership by lofting Carson for four – eggs over easy, one bounce before clearing long on boundary. A couple more brings fifty, making her the second highest run-scorer this World Cup behind Healy.
17th over: India 94-0 (Pratika 38, Smriti 44) Ice towels and sun umbrellas bring temporary relief. Jess Kerr resumes, Smriti threads four between third and backward point like the expert seamstress she is.
16th over: India 86-0 (Pratika 36, Smriti 38) Kerr tosses the first ball of the over up and SMriti strolls down the pitch and pings her for six over deep mid wicket. Four more from a Pratika square drive that whistles exquisitely over the rope ahead of the despairing sweeper. DRINKS, and India have wrestled control.
15th over: India 74-0 (Pratika 31, Smriti 31) Devine cuts her losses and replaces the expensive Tahuhu with Jess Kerr, whose first two overs went for three. The ploy works immediately, with just three singles run.
14th over: India 71-0 (Pratika 28, Smriti 27) Steady from Kerr, but India milk five singles from it.
13th over: India 67-0 (Pratika 28, Smriti 27) Pratika has decided Tahuhu must go. After the second ball flies off the pad and down to the rope, she pulls out a short-arm jab over wide long on, then a glorious front-foot lofted drive with pose held for all of Mumbai to appreciate, for four more.
12th over: India 53-0 (Pratika 20, Smriti 25) ICC woman’s cricketer of the year 20204 Melie Kerr is whistled into the action. A single and two leg byes from her first over.
11th over: India 50-0 (Pratika 20, Smriti 24) Another bowling change, Tahuhu starts with a wide and follows up with a wide three balls later. And another slips past Smriti’s off stump. Tahuhu curls her lip as she walks back. A delivery drifts widish of Pratika’s off stump , who promptly tucks cuts her for four. New Zealand’s change bowlers have not managed to capitalise on the miserliness of the opening pair.
10th over: India 40-0 (Pratika 15, Smriti 22) Pratika flays four like a chef presented with some rotten vegetables, pulling Devine over midwicket. But four dots complete the over and at the end of the power play, India’s run-rate is a grudingly respectable four an over.
9th over: India 35-0 (Pratika 11, Smriti 21) Ignore me, as Smriti shimmies down the pitch with twinkling boots and lofts Carson over long off and for six. Gorgeous shot which pleases as on-edge crowd.
8th over: India 28-0 (Pratika 11, Smriti 14) Smriti starts the over by slashing a juicy pie from Devine past backward point for four. Just one more run though, so India hardly steaming along .
7th over: India 23-0 (Pratika 11, Smriti 9) The first over of spin, with the fresh-faced Eden Carson, black towel tucked into her waistband. Smriti sweeps the first-ball loosener down to the rope. But the ring successfully prevent any more boundaries.
6th over: India 18-0 (Pratika 11, Smriti 4) Devine brings herself into the attack and Smriti rushes her first ball, sending the ball flying just past a airborne point. Dab-dab, we return to the singles game.
5th over: India 15-0 (Pratika 10, Smriti 2) A boundary at last, as Mair sends down a half volley and Pratika flicks her away off her ankles and down to the rope. And another! A greedy step forward and angled over cover. The engine is running.
4th over: India 6-0 (Pratika 2, Smriti 1) Lots of empty seats at the moment, but on TMS Steve Finn says that spectators are gathering in the shaded areas to shelter from the sun – it’s 3.15 in the afternoon in Mumbai. A couple of singles off Kerr’s second over, and then an out of character wide. India cannot pierce New Zealand’s fielders waiting in a tight ring.
3rd over: India 3-0 (Pratika 1, Smriti 0) The crowd are chomping for boundaries, but New Zealand’s bowlers are not complying. More stinginess from Mair, nibbling the ball both way and giving India nothing. Jut a single.
2nd over: India 2-0 (Pratika 0, Smriti 0) Jess Kerr at the other end, neat lengths, Smriti, watchful, taps the ball back. An excellent maiden.
Play!
1st over: India 2-0 (Pratika 0, Smriti 0) Rosemary Mair, hair scraped back, earrings dancing, starts with an outswinger that Pratika lets go safely by. And so it continues for much of the over, with two leg byes from the last ball.
India have limped to this stageon the back of three losses. But here they are, and they must turn things around today. After the anthems, New Zealand huddle for a giant high five, Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal trot to the middle.
Hot, hot, hot
It’s 35 degrees at the DY Patil stadium, and a humidity level in the 50s means that sweat won’t evaporate very effectively. It’s going to be tough out there.
I think Sophie Devine summed up the situation pretty well pre-match:
“I can’t imagine the a type pf pressure that India feel, a billion people tuned into the TV screens. I’ve got real empathy for them, for us it’s a really exciting challenge, playing India, in India, in a World Cup, these are the moments that you want to be playing cricket.”
India bring in Rodrigues
India XI: Smriti Mandhana, Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Renuka Singh, Kranti Gaud, Shree Charani.
Mumbai’s Rodrigues replaces Amanjot Kaur, but still no extra bowler.
New Zealand unchanged
New Zealand XI: Suzie Bates, Georgia Plimmer, Amelia Kerr, Sophie Devine (capt), Brooke Halliday, Maddy Green, Isabella Gaze (wk), Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Eden Carson, Lea Tahuhu.
Harmanpreet looks calm in the storm. “The pitch is looking good and we have a good opportunity with the extra batter to set a big total.We want to enjoy the moment and play good cricket.”
New Zealand win the toss and bowl
Sophie Devine: “We don’t think the surface will change much and we just want a first crack with the ball. We haven’t played as much as we’d like but…we walk towards the pressure, playing India in India in a World Cup, it doesn’t get much bigger than that.”
Preamble
Crunch. Match number 24 is the big one. India can qualify for their own tournament’s knock out stages if they win today. Rain-haunted New Zealand must win for a chance to make it to the semi-finals. Join us in Navi Mumbai – it should be a thriller, play starts at 10.30amBST.