Devine leads New Zealand to a decisive victory over India.

With a crushing victory over India in their opening match of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup in 2024, the women of New Zealand ended a run of ten consecutive losses in T20Is. They reached 160 for 4 in 20 overs thanks to a strong batting performance. The innings had been set up by the openers, who had given the team an equally powerful start, and while captain Sophie Devine scored a blistering 57* off 36 balls at the tail end of the innings, she was not the only one to do so.

The openers immediately got going after Devine called right and chose to bat on a surface where a match had been played earlier in the day. Suzie Bates pocketed two boundaries in the opening over that set the tone, toying with Pooja Vastrakar's lengths with her footwork. In order to keep the momentum going, her partner, Georgia Plimmer, drove and lofted Deepti Sharma for a four and a six in her first over.

New Zealand received runs even when there were no boundaries coming their way, like eight of Deepti's second over, thanks to the powerplay's constant push for boundaries. Arundhati Reddy was the principal bowler to rattle the pair with her more slow conveyances. She even created an opportunity by top-edging a cutter with Bates, but wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh fumbled and dropped the skier. However, the openers scored 55 on the powerplay, putting India on the back foot right away.

But in her subsequent over, Reddy got Bates to hole out to deepmidwicket, which made it possible for India to come back through the middle overs. In the following over, Plimmer ran out against leggie Asha Shobana early, and he holed out to long-on for a 23-ball 34. As India fought back, Reddy and Shobana only gave up 20 runs in the next five overs. In the meantime, Sophie Devine cautiously settled in before unleashing her might against Shobana for consecutive boundaries that indicated a new upswing for New Zealand.

Following Amelia Kerr's unsuccessful attempt at a late second run and a contentious call for a run-out, a lengthy debate ensued. However, the on-field umpire, who had already returned the bowler Deepti's cap, decided the ball was dead and let Kerr continue. She slapped Renuka Thakur to cover up, but it was in vain. Devine drilled Renuka straight down and through the offside for another pair of boundaries, appearing unperturbed by the melee. The final over of Deepti's forgettable day with the ball was a 16-run affair in which she gave up three boundaries. Brooke Halliday was caught at extra-cover after adding 46 with Devine for the fourth wicket. In the final over, the captain scored fifty off just 33 balls, enabling her team to reach the winning total.

For India, everything that could go wrong during the chase did. Offspinner Eden Carson bowled Shafali Varma softly off the first ball after she was caught out. As a number of Indian batters fell tame, it set the stage for what was to come. Before the former holed out to long-off off Carson once more, Smriti and Harmanpreet Kaur went through a brief period of consolidation.

When India's captain was caught LBW by a big inswinger from Rosemary Mair, the powerplay dealt them yet another devastating blow. After that, Lea Tahuhu broke through the middle order and caught Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, and Deepti Sharma. As India's innings slid toward a point of no return, Mair ended the game with a score of 4-19, a career high.

India's problems were made worse by the 58-run defeat, which hurt the NRR and gave New Zealand a strong start in Group A.