They say in sports, there is no such thing as a perfect game. But, under immense pressure after three straight defeats, India produced a near-perfect performance, beating New Zealand by 53 runs via the DLS method at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai to seal their place in the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup. The win was set up by centuries by Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal, followed by a sensational cameo by Jemimah Rodrigues, brought back into the XI and promoted to No 3.

New Zealand captain Sophie Devine’s decision to put India into bat backfired as the hosts’ opening duo of Mandhana and Rawal made the most of an excellent batting surface and a bowling attack that lost its bite after the Powerplay. After reaching 40/0 after 10 overs, the duo got stuck into the New Zeal

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