Dubai | New Zealand captain Sophie Devine, who inspired them to a big win over India in their Women's T20 World Cup opener, feels the run-out controversy surrounding Amelia Kerr may have "stalled" India's game flow but she stressed the importance of respecting umpires' judgment.
India found themselves in the midst of an umpiring controversy against the Kiwis here on Friday, a match they lost by 58 runs.
"Yeah it was an interesting one probably broke a little bit of momentum (of India) and maybe stalled them a little bit. But I think that's part of cricket isn't it, people's interpretations are always going to be slightly different," Devine said at the post-match media interaction.
The incident occurred in the 14th over of New Zealand's innings when Kerr was run out by Indian wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh while she attempted a second run along with Devine.
Kerr had already begun walking off the field before being called back by the umpires Anna Harris and Jacqueline Williams who ruled the ball dead, as Deepti Sharma had already received her cap from the umpire, signaling the end of the over.
The decision caused frustration for India as head coach Amol Mazumdar was seen in an heated discussion with the fourth umpire.
Acknowledging the ambiguity of such moments, Devine emphasised the importance of respecting the umpires' decision.
"I guess my understanding of it is when the umpire calls over and I never heard the umpire call over but obviously that's up to the umpire's discretion in terms of when they think the ball's dead...
"For us, trying to pinch runs here and there, you never know when that one run might count but, yeah look, trust the umpires and obviously they made the call at the end of the day, that's their job, it's not really any of my business, they're the ones that have to apply, I just sort of sometimes push the boundaries a little bit with it." Kerr's reprieve was short-lived as she was dismissed off the very first ball of the next over.
However, Devine continued to play a pivotal role, anchoring the innings with an unbeaten 57 off 36 balls in a crucial 46-run partnership (26 balls) with Brooke Halliday, propelling New Zealand to a match winning 160/4.
In reply, India folded for 102 with pacers Rosemary Mair and Lea Tahuhu sharing seven wickets between them as New Zealand snapped their 10-match losing streak in spectacular fashion.
"To me nothing's changed over the last seven-eight-nine-ten games. It's just that we haven't got the results that we wanted.
"The cricket gods decided to be with us today and sometimes that's all it is isn't it? Sometimes you get a lucky bounce, sometimes you get a catch that goes in the gap. I don't think it's through lack of effort or preparation, I think it's just sometimes the way cricket is," the skipper said.
Devine said they had planned for this game for nearly a year, but what made the difference was their bowlers' outstanding execution, dismissing India's top three inside the powerplay.
"To be honest, we've been planning for this game for about, probably close to a year. The level of detail that we've gone into in terms of matchups, field sets, obviously it helps having played a little bit with Smitty (Smriti Mandhana) in the WPL, but it's good to have plans." "The bowlers were outstanding we were really clear around what plans we wanted to use and how we wanted to use them and for them to execute and to pick up wickets regularly is something that I was really proud of." She further hailed the opening duo of Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer for seizing the momentum in the powerplay making 55 runs without losing a wicket.
"The foundation that was laid by Susie and Georgia was outstanding and got us ahead of the game early. So, I think that probably did lay the platform for us," she said.
On tackling Indian spinners without much trouble, she said: "We're really fortunate that we've got some great batting coaches along, you know, with Dean Brownlee and Craig McMillan, who've had a bit of experience playing in subcontinent conditions."