WOMEN’S World Cup hosts New Zealand produced a clinical performance to beat India by 62 runs in Hamilton.

India, despite impressing with the ball, struggled with the bat and fell well short of the White Ferns’ 260-9.

Amy Satterthwaite and Amelia Kerr both hit half-centuries for New Zealand, before Kerr turned the match with two wickets in two balls.

New Zealand go joint-top of the early group-stage table on four points, with India on two points.

India face West Indies, who have a 100% record so far, at the same venue tomorrow (01:00hr GMT), with New Zealand back in action almost 24 hours later (22:00hrs GMT, tomorrow) against tournament favourites Australia.

NEW ZEALAND SHOW CLASS
New Zealand were surprisingly beaten by West Indies in the opening game of the tournament, but have bounced back with consecutive victories.

Their batting was solid, if unspectacular, in posting a stiff target for India.

However, it was in the field where their class – and potential tournament-winning pedigree – shone through.

They kept a miserly check on the run-rate, with the pace, accuracy and hostility of Lea Tahuhu (3-17) complemented by a battery of skilful seam and spin bowlers.

And perhaps the most skilful of them all is 21-year-old leg-spinner Kerr, who halted an India fightback with a superb 30th over.

As Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur, two of India’s most experienced players, began to find the boundary with more regularity, Kerr stepped up.

First she had Raj expertly stumped with a fizzing leg-break before and from the very next ball Richa Ghosh was bamboozled by a googly that rocked back her off-stump.

India did have moments of their own, but they were mainly in the field, where the death-bowling of Pooja Vastrakar (4-34) caught the eye.

There was also a landmark moment for 39-year-old Jhulan Goswami who became the joint leading wicket-taker in World Cup history by claiming her 39th victim. (BBC Sport)