That brings an end to our coverage of this game. Keep joining us for more cricketing action all around the globe. For now, this is Akshay Bhide, signing off, on behalf of my co-commentator Dev Rajawat, scorer Ashok Dayma and statistician Aman. Until next time, cheers and good bye.
Nomvelo Sibanda (Zimbabwe Women Captain): "[Positives from this match] Yeah, things didn't go our way. But in the bowling department, we bowled less extras and that was good. And in the batting, that knock from Biza was special.
[On Beloved Biza] Biza is a special player and she is getting better as a player.
[Learnings from this game] Keep the head cool. We need to bowl in the right areas to build pressure and that's one area we need to improve.
[On Amelia Kerr's knock] It was a brilliant knock. She gave us hard time."
Amelia Kerr (Player of the Match): (On her unbeaten century) “Yeah, it was good fun and a great win for the group. A T20 hundred doesn’t come around too often, so I’m really pleased. It was great to build that partnership with Izzy - the way she stayed composed at the end was outstanding.
(On facing a new opposition) When you bat in the top order in T20 cricket, you might get a few balls to assess conditions, but it’s important to have intent from ball one. For me today, hitting straight felt like the best option, and thankfully, that worked.
(On the significance of the win as captain) Any win for your country is always special. I’m really happy with how different players contributed tonight - it was a true team effort and a great way to start the series.
(On areas for improvement) I thought Zimbabwe actually batted nicely, and we would have liked to take more wickets through the innings. But overall, the energy and intensity in the field were outstanding, which is something we’ve really been focusing on.
(On the team’s fielding intensity) That’s one of the key controllables for this group. The coaches have been stressing that attitude and effort in the field, and I thought the girls were fantastic tonight.”
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: AMELIA KERR
2:46 PM IST, 10:16 PM Local Time: That’s it. New Zealand Women thump Zimbabwe Women by 92 runs in their first-ever meeting in T20Is to go 1-0 up in the three-match series. The new era in New Zealand cricket under Amelia Kerr begins with a comprehensive win. Zimbabwe have been completely outplayed today in Hamilton.
Chasing a mammoth 203, Zimbabwe lost both their openers in Kelis Ndlovu (0) and Nyasha Gwanzura (0) on ducks. Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano looked good for her run-a-ball 19 before she got stumped in the seventh over. Beloved Biza along with Josephine Nkomo led the recovery work for Zimbabwe.
Biza and Nkomo stitched a decent 50-run stand before the latter fell on 25. Biza remained unbeaten on 49 along with Chiedza Dhururu (8*) as Zimbabwe finished their innings on 110/4 to lose the game by 92 runs. They failed to gain any momentum and as a result, suffered a heavy loss in the first T20I.
Amelia Kerr (2/14), Bree Illing (1/23) and Jess Kerr (1/20) entered the wickets column for New Zealand as they completed a dominant win over Zimbabwe to take an early lead in the three-match T20I series.
Earlier, Amelia Kerr treated everyone with a batting masterclass. Georgia Plimmer gave New Zealand a solid start after they were asked to bat first. She scored a quickfire 20-ball 32 before falling in the final over of the powerplay. Isabella Gaze took her time to settle in whereas skipper Amelia Kerr came out all guns blazing at number three.
The pair of Gaze and Kerr kept going strong as Zimbabwean bowlers struggled to keep a check on the scoring rate. The partnership grew as the visitors looked clueless with the ball in hand. Gaze brought up a well-composed fifty off 42 balls.
Kerr was unstoppable as she played some outstanding strokes and brought up her maiden T20I hundred on the final ball of the innings. New Zealand posted 202/1 on the board, thanks to a mammoth unbeaten second-wicket stand of 159. Nyasha Gwanzura (1/37) was the lone wicket-taker for Zimbabwe. Their batters then failed to get going and lost the contest by 92 runs.
Stay tuned for the post-match presentation.
OVER 20
Zimbabwe Women
110/4
Chiedza Dhururu
8(9)
Beloved Biza
49(55)
Rosemary Mair
0-27(4.0)
19.6 R Mair to C Dhururu
0 Executes her yorker again, around middle, does Mair. Dhururu just manages to jam it down into the deck. DONE AND DUSTED! NEW ZEALAND WOMEN HAVE DEFEATED ZIMBABWE WOMEN BY 92 RUNS!!!
19.5 R Mair to C Dhururu
0 Another yorker, around leg. Dhururu backs away a bit and looks to flick it but misses. Wears it on her back foot. The ball dies there and both batters fail to take a single. Biza will remain on 49.