NZ demolish India, Shastri's masterplan for Kohli in World Cup and more - Cricket News Today, 6th February 2019

There are plenty of top developments in Cricket News Today - our special compilation of all interesting happenings of the day in the sport.

On Waitangi Day (New Zealand's National Day), New Zealand women's and men's teams cruised to dominant T20I victories against India women's and men's teams respectively at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington.

In other significant news, head coach Ravi Shastri has revealed a special plan regarding skipper Virat Kohli's possible batting position in the 2019 World Cup.

Here are all of today's top developments from the day.

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Mithali Raj dropped from playing XI; India women go down by 23 runs

Mithali Raj was once again left out of the T20I lineup

Following her unceremonious ouster from the playing XI during the Women's World T20 late last year, India women's ODI captain Mithali Raj was once again dropped from the lineup as the T20I team took the field at Wellington.

However, the bold move did not quite work in India's favour as they went down by 23 runs in the first T20I against New Zealand women at the Westpac Stadium.

Choosing to bowl first, India women conceded 159 to a strong New Zealand lineup. Although Smriti Mandhana's record fifty gave them a solid start to the run-chase, the visitors suffered a middle-order collapse and ended up getting bowled out for 136.

At the end of the match, T20I captain Harmanpreet Kaur explained Mithali Raj's exclusion by insisting, "Well, we are just looking to give chance to young girls. We only have these three overseas games and after that we are playing in more Indian conditions and I think that's the only reason we're giving chances to the young girls."

South Australia women get bowled out for just 10 runs

NSW's Roxanne Van-Veen (Image Courtesy: Cricket Australia Twitter)

In what is a bizarre outcome, South Australia women were bowled out for a mere 10 runs by New South Wales during a second round fixture in National Indigenous Cricket Championship at Alice Springs.

Only four runs came off the bat for South Australia women and they were all scored by opener Febi Mansell. All other batters registered ducks and six runs came off wides. They batted 10.2 overs for those ten runs. Mansell herself battled hard for four runs off 33 balls.

Roxanne Van-Veen was the wrecker-in-chief. She claimed astonishing figures of 5/1 from just two overs.

In reply, New South Wales chased down the target of 11 runs from just 2.5 overs for the loss of just two wickets.

Tim Seifert and ruthless bowlers help NZ crush India in 1st T20I

Tim Seifert's sizzling 84 from 43 balls propelled New Zealand to a formidable total

Fresh off a dominant 4-1 victory in the ODI series, India flattered to deceive during the first T20I against New Zealand at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington. The Blackcaps came up with a complete performance to crush the Men in Blue by 80 runs.

Upon winning the toss and opting to chase, India began on a horrific note with the ball as the opening duo of Tim Seifert and Colin Munro added 86 runs from 8.2 overs. Following the latter's dismissal, the wicket-keeper batsman went on to smash 84 off just 43 balls to propel New Zealand to a daunting total of 219.

India's run-chase started in a woeful manner as Rohit Sharma fell in the third over. Despite promising starts from Shikhar Dhawan and Vijay Shankar, the visitors ran out of steam and eventually crawled to 139 all out in 19.2 overs. MS Dhoni's 31-ball 39 was the top-score for the Men in Blue.

In terms of runs, the 80-run defeat is the worst ever loss in India's T20I history. The second T20I is slated to take place on Friday at Auckland.

Shastri ponders batting Kohli at number four in World Cup

Shastri wants to shield Kohli from a potentially dangerous new-ball spell in English conditions

In a bid to protect the team's biggest asset as well as bolster their under-fire middle-order, India head coach Ravi Shastri is considering batting captain Virat Kohli at the number four spot in the 2019 World Cup.

In an interview with Cricbuzz, Shastri revealed, "The good thing about this Indian top-three is we can separate them, if conditions and situations demand. Someone like Virat Kohli can go to number four, and we can put a good number three to bring more balance to the batting line-up. That's flexibility for you, and for big tournaments like the World Cup, you have to be flexible to see what's the best balance for the side."

When asked if the move was aimed at preserving Kohli's wicket in English conditions, the 56-year-old added, "Yes, maybe Rayudu, or someone else, could bat at number three, and Kohli comes in at number four. We wouldn't want to disturb the opening combination. Separating the top-three could make the batting stronger. But we will assess that on seeing conditions there in England. You don't want to be 18-3 or 16-4 in a big tournament. I don't care about bilateral ODIs, but why should I lose my best batsman early in a World Cup match."

Boasting of the likes of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli, India's top three have been remarkably prolific in the 50-over format during the course of the last five years. However, the longstanding struggles of the middle-order, as well as the fickle nature of conditions in England, could potentially see Kohli walking out at number four in crucial games in the World Cup.