Women’s World Cup: New Zealand elect to bowl first as Jemimah returns for India in key clash

Navi Mumbai, Oct 23 (IANS) India brought in Jemimah Rodrigues into the playing XI as New Zealand won the toss and elected to field first in Match 24 of ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 at the D.Y Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Thursday.

While Jemimah came in for Amanjot Kaur as the lone change in the Indian playing XI from the match the hosts lost to England in Indore, the White Ferns decided to field an unchanged side.

New Zealand captain Sophie Devine said the pitch will not change much in the second half of the match and that it might just get better under lights. She said the White Ferns have been training exceptionally hard and trust what they have been doing. With two of their matches getting washed off, the New Zealand skipper said they have not played a lot of cricket with the bat recently, and that has left them chomping at the bit.

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur said the pitch is looking good and is a good opportunity for them to put up a good score with an extra batter in the playing XI.

She said it was a little disappointing not to get the results in their past games. But added that they want to enjoy the moment and play good cricket. She said India were getting starts but have been unable to make it big. Today is an opportunity, and I was looking forward to everyone doing well, she concludes.

Both teams have to win the match. India can seal a berth in the semifinals if they win on Thursday, while the White Ferns will have to wait till the final set of league matches. But a win against India will surely be a giant step in that direction.

Playing XIs:

Teams:

India: Smriti Mandhana, Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Renuka Singh, Kranti Gaud, Shree Charani

New Zealand: Suzie Bates, Georgia Plimmer, Amelia Kerr, Sophie Devine (c), Brooke Halliday, Maddy Green, Isabella Gaze (wk), Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Eden Carson, Lea Tahuhu

–IANS

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