Indian women's team loses 3rd T20I despite Mandhana's 86, suffers 0-3 series whitewash
Hamilton : The Indian women's team almost pulled off a dramatic win but failed to score a boundary in the final delivery to lose the third and final T20 International against New Zealand by a mere two runs here on Sunday.
Chasing 162 for a win, star opening batswoman Smriti Mandhana took the Indian team on course for a consolation win with a career-best knock of 86 from 52 balls but the visiting side failed to build on her scintillating knock to end their innings at 159 for 4.
With the three-match series already lost after defeats in the first and second T20Is, India surprising named senior player Mithali Raj in the playing eleven and she contributed 24 not out from 20 balls after coming to bat at the fall of captain Harmanpreet Kaur (2).
But she failed to hit a four from the final delivery bowled by Leigh Kasperek as India lost the match by two runs.
India needed 16 runs from the final over and Raj and Deepti Sharma (21 not out) raised hopes of a remarkable win by hitting boundaries in the first and third deliveries but were left to hit a four off the last ball.
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur, whose indifferent form has hurt the team, said she was disappointed at the result and the 0-3 series defeat. India had won the three-match ODI series 2-1 before this T20 contest.
"We are disappointed to lose the series like this, we could have done better. We have a lot of work to do," she said after scoring just two on Sunday.
She had scored 17 and 5 in the first two matches.
"In T20 Internationals we need to make improvements in the final 10-over batting. More importantly, we need to sort out the batting order.
"But there are positives from this series like the batting of Smirti and Jemimah as well as the performance of bowlers," she added.
Mandhana, who had scored 58 and 36 in the first two matches, continued her red-hot form by notching up her eight T20I fifty and second of the series as she dominated against New Zealand bowlers yet again.
With one-down Jemimah Rodrigues (21), the other batswoman who has been in fine touch, India reached 92 for 2 at the halfway stage.
But after that, India could not force the pace of scoring and with captain Kaur failing to make a mark, the asking rate kept on climbing.
When Mandhana was out in the 16th over, India needed 39 from 4.3 overs which was not an easy job. Raj and Deepti could not get too many boundaries and they were left with 16 to win from the final over.
Electing to bat, New Zealand looked set to post a much bigger total by reaching 80 for 2 at the halfway stage but India came back strongly to force a batting collapse as the home side finally ended their innings at 161 for 7.
Hard-hitting opener Sophie Devine top-scored with a sparkling 52-ball 72 which was laced with eight boundaries and two sixes while captain Amy Satterthwaite contributed 31 from 23 deliveries.
The duo's 71-run stand for the third wicket from exactly eight overs was the highlight of the New Zealand innings. The other opener Suzie Bates (24) and one-down Hannah Rowe (12) were the other batswomen who reached to doube-digit figures.
Devine dominated against all the Indian bowlers, especially against leg-spinner Poonam Yadav whom she hoisted for two big sixes during her onslaught.
But once Devine was dismissed in the 17th over, New Zealand suffered a batting collapse, scoring just 21 runs from the remaining 3.2 overs. From 140 for 2 in the 17th over, New Zealand ended their innings at 161 for 7.
The Indians got a wicket each in the 18th and 19th overs and two from the final over to made a remarkable come back in the final five overs from which they conceded just 34 runs.
Off-spinner Deepti Sharma grabbed two wickets for 28 runs while Poonam Yadav, Mansi Joshi, Radha Yadav and Arundhati Reddy took a wicket apiece.
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Iran's World Cup place in US put in doubt by Middle East war. FIFA has Iraq next in line
Geneva (AP): Iran's place at the men's World Cup in three months' time was put in doubt Monday amid an escalating Middle East conflict sparked by the soccer tournament's co-host the United States.
Iran is due to play its three group stage games in the U.S. — two in Inglewood, California, then in Seattle — from June 15-26. Cities in Canada and Mexico also will host some of the 104 games.
The U.S. and Israel have targeted Iran in coordinated attacks since Saturday that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens more senior officials.
It provoked an Iranian response that aimed missiles at U.S. allies including 2022 World Cup host Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which FIFA has picked to stage the 2034 edition.
“What is certain is that after this attack, we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope,” said Iran's top soccer official Mehdi Taj, a vice president of the Asian Football Confederation.
It is unclear if the state-backed Iranian soccer federation could refuse to send its team to the 48-nation tournament that starts June 11, or the U.S. government could effectively block the team.
FIFA has declined comment since Saturday, when secretary general Mattias Grafström said it would “monitor developments around all issues around the world.”
The White House's top official overseeing World Cup preparations, Andrew Guiliani, seemed unconcerned Saturday in a social media post.
“We'll deal with soccer games tomorrow,” Guiliani wrote about Iran, “tonight, we celebrate their opportunity for freedom.”
Here is a look at the issues in play:
Asian soccer power
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Iran has one of the best national teams in Asia and has qualified for six of the past eight World Cups.
It is No. 20 in the FIFA world rankings of 211 teams, and has not been lower than No. 24 since the last World Cup in Qatar.
Iran was among the second-seeded teams in the World Cup draw held in Washington, D.C. in December, minutes after U.S. President Donald Trump was presented with the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize.
Though Taj and other Iranian soccer officials were denied visas to enter the U.S., the draw outcome was favorable for Iran, especially in the expanded format where most third-place teams advance to the knockout rounds.
Iran starts against low-ranked New Zealand, then plays one of the weaker top-seeded nations, Belgium, and finishes against Egypt.
Iran is likely to be supported in stadiums by its diaspora in the U.S., though residents of the Middle East nation are subject to a ban on entering the country.
Trump's government has promised exemptions from its travels bans for athletes and coaches arriving for major sports events like the World Cup.
Politics around Iran inside World Cup stadiums is nothing new. Protests over domestic issues were aired by Iran fans at the last World Cup.
The FIFA rules
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FIFA's World Cup regulations envisage a team withdrawing, or being excluded, from the tournament though the legal language is vague to say the least.
In that scenario, according to Article 6.7, “FIFA shall decide on the matter at its sole discretion and take whatever action is deemed necessary.”
“FIFA may decide to replace the Participating Member Association in question with another association,” the rules say.
That legal framing seems to give FIFA president Gianni Infantino wide powers to shape any decision relating to Iran.
Just 18 months ago, the decision announced by Infantino to add Lionel Messi's team Inter Miami to the 2025 Club World Cup lineup appeared to have no basis in formal tournament rules.
Consequences of withdrawingShould Iran pull out of the World Cup — still hugely speculative — its soccer federation would forfeit at least $10.5 million.
FIFA pays $9 million in prize money to each of the 16 federations whose teams fail to advance from the group stage, and all 48 qualified teams get $1.5 million “to cover preparation costs.”
The Iranian federation also would face disciplinary fines from FIFA — at least 250,000 Swiss francs ($321,000) for withdrawing up to 30 days before the tournament, and at least 500,000 Swiss francs ($642,000) if the decision is in the last month before kickoff.
Iran would risk being excluded by FIFA from qualifying for the next World Cup in 2030 as well.
Next in line
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Iran was a fast World Cup qualifier last March, earning one of eight guaranteed places allocated to the Asian Football Confederation.
Should Iran pull out, the likely replacement from Asia should be Iraq or the United Arab Emirates.
Iraq and the UAE were effectively the ninth and 10th-ranked Asian teams through the various qualifying groups and advanced to a two-leg playoff last November.
Iraq won 3-2 on aggregate — eliminating the UAE — to advance to the intercontinental playoffs in Mexico and, on March 31, it is scheduled to play an elimination game against Bolivia or Suriname with a World Cup place at stake.
One possible element of uncertainty is the language of the World Cup tournament rules.
FIFA wrote that it can decide to replace a withdrawn team “with another association,” though without specifying the replacement must come from the same continental confederation.
