In the eight-team event, Sophie Devine and company ended a two-match losing streak by defeating Bangladesh by 100 runs. Following the White Ferns’ first victory in the ongoing Women’s World Cup 2025 on Friday, October 10 at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, Sophie Devine, the captain of New Zealand, exhaled with relief.
According to Devine, South Africa’s victory over co-host India on Thursday demonstrated that anything can happen throughout the competition. After her team’s campaign began with losses to South Africa and Australia, the 36-year-old is optimistic that they can turn things around.
It’s quite satisfying for the team to open our account following a few games that were somewhat frustrating. In some parts, we performed well against Australia, but we struggled against South Africa,” Devine told the BBC.
She went on to say that South Africa’s thrilling victory over India on Thursday night served as a reminder that “anything can happen in this tournament.”
With World Cup scores of 63, 85, and 112 thus far, Devine has been in incredible form. As a diabetic, the Wellington native talked about how hard it is for her to cope with the humid subcontinental climate.
“I was a little low on sugar, which is something you have to cope with if you have diabetes. It’s a necessary component of playing at this level, she stated.
Pace leader Lea Tahuhu, who had an outstanding performance in her 100th ODI game, was also welcomed back by the captain.
She did a fantastic job targeting the stumps, as we discussed. It was a great performance, but she must have shed almost six kilogrammes from the perspiration,” Devine continued.
In Chennai, we spent a lot of time on the sweep shot: Brooke Halliday
The team had practiced at the nets by facing bowlers that were similar to Bangladesh’s attack, according to Brook Halliday, who top-scored for New Zealand against Bangladesh with a 69 off 104 balls.
Bangladesh’s attack was comparable to the bowlers we practiced against in the nets. During our camp in Chennai, we worked on the sweep shot a lot in an effort to improve our skills,” she remarked.
After putting on a vital 112-run partnership with the veteran off 165 balls, the Hamilton native also valued Devine’s composed demeanour at the wicket.
“Batting with Sophie was simple. On a difficult day, she kept things straightforward,” the 29-year-old said.
Nigar Sultana, the captain of Bangladesh, acknowledged that her team was inconsistent. After chasing a 228-run mark against a formidable bowling attack from New Zealand, they were bowled for 127.
Sultana stated, “We wanted to do the same positive things here that we did in the previous games, but we were inconsistent.”
India
