Many, including the Indian players, discussed in the lead-up to the Women’s T20 World Cup how this was the greatest side to participate in the competition ever, covering every aspect. However, the pre-tournament favorites, Harmanpreet Kaur & co., had a poor start in Group A with lackluster performances in all areas and lost badly to New Zealand by 58 runs on Friday at the Dubai International Stadium.

“Our cricket wasn’t at its best. Moving ahead, we are aware that every game matters. Although we generated opportunities, we were unable to take advantage of them. Without a doubt, they were the better cricket players than us. We learned from our errors in fielding so that we don’t make the same ones again.

“We anticipated that on the board, and we have pursued 160–170 several times. We knew someone had to bat through while we were batting, but we were losing wickets. After the game, a frustrated Harmanpreet remarked, “We know this group is capable of doing better; this wasn’t the start we were expecting, but we have to go up  from here.”

With a decisive victory against a hapless Indian side, New Zealand was able to end their ten-game losing run in the format. After Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer put up a 67-run opening partnership, skipper Sophie Devine seized control of the game with an undefeated 36-ball 57. New Zealand managed to post a tough 160/4 on a sticky field.

“I felt that Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer’s speech at the start of the inning established the tone. Through overs 7–12, Melie (Amelia Kerr) and I may have been a little sluggish, but we were able to pick up speed in the latter stages.

“Finding the gaps and pacing off was a difficult task.” a little rough at first. I’m just so glad to have helped. After winning Player of the Match, Sophie commented, “It’s nice to see the team get their reward after working so hard for the last six months.”

With the ball, Rosemary Mair grabbed 4-19 with the help of a cold wind this evening in Dubai. Seamer Lea Tahuhu collected 3-15, while off-spinner Eden Carson opened the score by grabbing the first four Indian wickets in four overs.

“I’m rather pleased with this bunch. People have been talking about our recent performance, which left me feeling completely overwhelmed—coming out against a world-class team like India. This is the game that we have been aiming for for a while. Although it’s wonderful to come out and leave a mark, the competition still has a long way to go.

“We’ve seen some strong powerplay starts from Georgia and Suzie. They seemed quite sincere. Afterwards, Brooke Halliday and Maddy Green played crucial hands to close off the innings. We were probably ten times better than they were, but their lineup is really strong. We spoke about forcing batsmen to play their hardest strokes, and the bowlers really delivered,” Sophie said, describing how they executed their strategy flawlessly to unsettle India.

India’s window of opportunity is narrow: they have only one day off before facing Pakistan on Sunday afternoon. On the other side, New Zealand has a few days before playing Australia, the reigning champions, on October 8.

“We are too familiar with them. Being able to play in these circumstances balances the playing field somewhat and is always a tremendous challenge. They’re the games you want to play, so we’ll take excellent confidence. Sophie said, “Licking our lips to get stuck in.”