Bengaluru, Sep 25 (IANS) Fifties from Shafali Verma and Mamatha Madiwala propelled India A to stun New Zealand by four wickets in the Women’s ODI World Cup warm-up game at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) Ground 2 on Thursday.

Electing to bat first, Isabella Gaze hit an unbeaten 101 to take New Zealand to 273/9 in their 50 overs. With rain interrupting India A’s chase, their target was revised to 224 in 40 overs via the DLS method, and the hosts’ reached the target with just three balls in a nail-biting finish to stun the White Ferns aiming to win an ODI World Cup for the first time after 2000.

The standout player in India A’s chase was Shafali, who was back in action for the first time after being left out of India’s squad for the upcoming World Cup. Shafali played in her swashbuckling style to hit 70 off 49 balls in a knock laced with 11 boundaries and a six.

But with the likes of Vrinda Dinesh, Dhara Gujjar, and Tejal Hasabnis falling quickly, India A were at a precarious 121/6, before wicketkeeper-batter Mamatha calmed things down by hitting 56 not out off 60 balls, laced with six fours and a maximum. She was supported well by all-rounder Minnu Mani, who was unbeaten on 39 off 53 balls, including hitting three fours and a six.

New Zealand, meanwhile, had to see Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer being dismissed cheaply. Despite brief resistance from captain Sophie Devine (34) and Maddy Green (30), regular breakthroughs from the Indian bowlers kept them in check. At 85/5, New Zealand were in danger of being dismissed for a low total, before Isabella hit 101 off 100 balls, laced with 15 fours and a six, to ensure the visitors’ finished with a respectable total.

For India A, pacer Sayali Satghare was the standout bowler with figures of 3/45, while Minnu, Titas Sadhu, Saima Thakor, Priya Mishra, Tanuja Kanwer and Prema Rawat took a scalp each. The result is another feather in the bag for India A, who had got a 2-1 50-over series win on multi-format tour of Australia in August.

New Zealand, meanwhile, will be keen to address their mistakes from this game before playing their second warm-up game, against the main Indian team led by Harmanpreet Kaur at the same venue on Saturday.

Brief Scores: New Zealand 273/9 in 50 overs (Isabella Gaze 101 not out, Jess Kerr 36; Sayali Satghare 3-45, Priya Mishra 1-24) lost to India A 226/6 in 39.3 overs (Shafali Verma 70, Mamatha Madiwala 56 not out; Jess Kerr 2-15, Amelia Kerr 2-26) by four wickets via DLS method

–IANS

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