New Zealand team is out of ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025. On October 23 (Thursday), in the match held at DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai, New Zealand lost to India by 53 runs under the DLS rule. With this victory, the Indian team reached the semi-finals. The teams of Australia, South Africa and England had already reached the semi-finals.
New Zealand captain Sophie Devine looked very emotional after the loss to India. The New Zealand team will play its last match in this World Cup against England on Sunday (26 October). After this match, Divine will say goodbye to ODI cricket. After the loss to India, Divine spoke openly about his team and cricket career. He admitted that being out of the World Cup is very disappointing, but he is extremely proud of his team and the young players.
Sophie Devine said, ‘It is very difficult to hold a press conference after the defeat, but still I am proud of this team. I don’t think much because I get very emotional. But I am very proud of the way the girls played. Players like Isabella Gage, Brook Halliday, Amelia Kerr, Eden Carson are now proving themselves in the team. This is what will give me peace when I bid farewell to the team after playing the next match. It is like a mother watching her children grow.
Losing is always difficult: Devine
Sophie Devine said that she has spent so many years with New Zealand cricket. Devine says, ‘We bowled well in the powerplay, but when a team makes a partnership of more than 200, the pressure increases. Indian batsmen played freely and probably scored 20-30 more runs. It is always difficult to lose, especially when there is still hope for the semi-finals. People forget that we are also human beings, we also have emotions. We feel the burden of criticism and expectations.
Sophie Devine said that the weather did not favor her team in this tournament. Two matches in Colombo were washed out due to rain, and losing the first two matches put a lot of pressure on the team. Devine said, ‘Probably no one would have worked as hard as we did. But hard work in sports does not always mean victory. This is the hardest part, when even after giving everything, the result is not in your favor. We will recover from the defeat and will give our full strength against England. Win or lose, but we will leave the field with our heads held high. Sometimes in life even good people do not get results, but we will try our best.
The match against India was like ‘do or die’ for New Zealand. New Zealand won the toss and chose to bowl, but India’s opening pair made a brilliant partnership. Pratika Rawal and Smriti Mandhana added 212 runs for the first wicket. Pratika scored 122 and Mandhana scored 109 runs. Under DLS rules, New Zealand had the target of 325 runs in 44 overs. Despite the fifties of Brooke Halliday (81 runs) and Isabella Gage (65 not out), the New Zealand team remained far away from victory.
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