The stage is set at the picturesque Hagley Oval as the New Zealand Women (White Ferns) take on the South Africa Women (Proteas) in the 1st ODI of their three-match series. This series is a vital part of the ICC Women’s Championship (2025–29), with crucial qualification points for the 2029 World Cup at stake. The hosts enter the 50-over format with high confidence after a dominant 4–1 victory in the recently concluded T20I series.

Led by the phenomenal Amelia Kerr, the White Ferns are a force to be reckoned with at home. Kerr is coming off a record-breaking summer, recently claiming the best-ever ODI figures for New Zealand (7/34 against Zimbabwe). The return of veterans Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer from injury bolsters a batting lineup that looked clinical in the T20s. Keep an eye on potential debutant Kayley Knight, whose extra pace could be a game-changer on this surface.

Captain Laura Wolvaardt has admitted her side needs a “massive turnaround” after their T20I drubbing. The Proteas are historically strong in ODIs against New Zealand—winning four of their last five meetings—but they must address a fragile middle order. The return of seasoned campaigners like Marizanne Kapp (if fit) and the pace duo of Klaas and Khaka provides the experience needed to challenge the Kiwis. Sune Luus remains their anchor in the middle, while Wolvaardt will be the prized wicket at the top.

NZ-W vs SA-W, 1st ODI: Match details

• Date and Time: March 29; 6:30 am IST / 1:00 am GMT / 2:00 pm Local
• Venue: Hagley Oval, Christchurch

NZ-W vs SA-W, Head-to-Head Record in ODIs

Matches played: 21 | South Africa won: 9 | New Zealand won: 12| No result: 1

Hagley Oval Pitch Report

The surface at Hagley Oval is historically one of the best cricket wickets in New Zealand, offering a fair contest between bat and ball. Expect the new ball to “hoop around” early on. With the match being played in moderate, cloudy conditions, seamers like Jess Kerr and Ayabonga Khaka will find significant movement in the first 10 overs. Once the initial shine wears off, the pitch settles into a “belter.” It offers true pace and consistent bounce, allowing batters who get through the tough opening spell to play their shots freely. Given the early movement, the captain winning the toss might prefer to bowl first to exploit the moisture and overcast skies.

Squads

New Zealand Women: Suzie Bates, Georgia Plimmer, Amelia Kerr (c), Izzy Sharp, Brooke Halliday, Maddy Green, Isabella Gaze (wk), Nensi Patel, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Bree Illing, Kayley Knight, Flora Devonshire

South Africa Women: Laura Wolvaardt (c), Tazmin Brits, Sune Luus, Kayla Reyneke, Annerie Dercksen, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Tumi Sekhukhune, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Ayanda Hlubi, Masabata Klaas, Ayabonga Khaka, Anneke Bosch, Karabo Meso

Also READ: Jess Kerr, Sophie Devine power New Zealand to series-clinching win over South Africa in 4th T20I

NZ-W vs SA-W, 1st ODI: Today’s Match Prediction

Case 1:

• New Zealand wins the toss and bowl first
• South Africa’s powerplay score: 50-60
• South Africa’s total score: 260-280

Case 2:

• South Africa wins the toss and bowl first
• New Zealand’s powerplay score: 40-50
• New Zealand’s total score: 240-260

Match Result: Team bowling first to win the contest

Also READ: Amelia Kerr’s blistering century leads New Zealand to dominant triumph over South Africa in 5th T20I

This article was first published at WomenCricket.com, a Cricket Times company.

The last remaining cofounder of xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence (AI) company, has left the company. Citing people familiar with his exit, a report by Business Insider, Ross Nordeen, one of the 11 people who helped Musk launch xAI in 2023, departed the company this week. His badge on X, which identified him as an xAI employee, has also been removed, the report said.Nordeen’s departure marks the end of an era for a company even as it is preparing for what could be one of the most valuable initial public offerings in history. The official reason is not known yet but in Musk’s own words, xAI was not built right the first time.“xAI was not built right first time around, so is being rebuilt from the foundations up,” Musk said earlier this month when the last two of the co-founders were left of the 11.

The man who kept xAI running

The report says that the 36-year-old reported directly to Musk and served as his primary operator. He was responsible for coordinating priorities and driving execution across the entire company, the insiders said. In practice, he was the person who made sure things actually got done.A graduate of Michigan Tech, Nordeen followed Musk from Tesla, where he had been a technical programme manager on the Autopilot team, working on data centres to train Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system. He is also a longtime friend of Musk’s cousin, James Musk, according to Walter Isaacson’s biography of the billionaire.In fact, Nordeen was among the small group of Tesla and SpaceX engineers brought in to help coordinate the job cuts when Musk took over Twitter in 2022.

Exodus started after SpaceX-xAI merger

Nordeen’s exit is the final chapter in a steady exodus that has seen all 11 of xAI’s original cofounders depart since the company was founded.Eight cofounders have left since January alone, including Manuel Kroiss, who led the process of training AI models on large datasets, and reported directly to Musk. Kroiss left earlier the same week as Nordeen. Others who have departed include Guodong Zhang, Zihang Dai, Toby Pohlen, Jimmy Ba, Tony Wu, and Greg Yang.The report also said that the departures accelerated following SpaceX’s merger with xAI in February, which was executed ahead of the planned IPO.

Mumbai: The fraudsters, posing as personnel from the law enforcement agencies, threatened a septuagenarian husband-wife duo that the wife’s Aadhaar card had been seized from one of the 90 terrorists arrested by the Lucknow ATS. To examine if their money was valid, the fake cops asked the elderly couple to send money to them for verification and assured to return once it gets clean chit. The couple in nine transactions sent Rs 2.84 crore and later realised they were duped by fake cops.The East cyber police station registered an FIR on March 24 against eight unidentified persons for cheating, forgery and extortion under the BNS and identity theft under the IT act. The alleged ‘digital arrest’ crime took place between Dec 16 last year and Mar 23 this year.The 77-year-old husband, who trades in shares, in his FIR stated that he resided along with his 72-year-old wife at Kanjur Marg. The wife retired from the post of a senior personal assistant from the state govt’s cooperative and marketing department. One of the couple’s two sons works abroad.The complainant told police that on Dec 16 an unknown person called up his wife and introduced himself as police inspector Ranjit Kumar from Mumbai Police Headquarters. “He then said that my wife’s Aadhaar card has been linked to the bank account of a terrorist organisation and it is being investigated by Lucknow ATS. He said that Lucknow ATS officer Prem Kumar Gautam will contact him in this regard,” the complainant told police. Scared, the wife informed her husband. Later, he received a call from a person who said he was Premkumar Gautam from Lucknow ATS and that the ATS had arrested 90 terrorists. Gautam told the complainant that his wife’s Aadhaar card had been seized from one of the terrorists and that his senior officer Ajay Srivastava would contact the couple regarding this.Then another person, Ajay Srivastava, called up the complainant’s wife. He said that Rs 70 lakh had been deposited in the complainant’s wife’s bank account and that further investigation was being done through the National Investigation Agency.Later, Srivastava sent documents titled Confidentiality Agreement with the logo of the NIA to the complainant’s wife via WhatsApp. A document sent by Srivastava contained a fake sign of an RBI deputy governor.Srivastava told the couple that the NIA chief would contact them through the ‘Signal’ app regarding the incident. The accused also asked the couple to send them a message every four hours saying “We are safe with national security.” Srivasatava also sent the complainant a message on Signal saying his meeting was scheduled with the NIA chief. During the WhatsApp call meeting the fake NIA chief asked the complainant to send all the money for verification and assured to return after examination.When the complainant did not get their money back, he realised he was cheated. On March 23, he and his wife went to the NIA office at Peddar Road in central Mumbai where the couple was asked to go to the cyber police station.

RCB’s Phil Salt celebrates after taking the catch of Sunrisers Hyderabad’s captain Ishan Kishan (PTI Photo)

Phil Salt produced a moment of brilliance in the field to dismiss Ishan Kishan, bringing an end to a commanding knock in the IPL 2026 opener between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad.Kishan was batting fluently on 80 off just 38 balls and looked set for a century when he attempted to guide a full toss outside off towards the boundary. The ball seemed destined for the ropes, but Salt had other ideas. Running hard to his right from point, he stretched out fully and completed a one-handed catch at full reach, pulling off a stunning dismissal that could be among the catches of the season.It was not the only moment Salt made an impact in the field. Earlier, he was involved in another crucial catch near the boundary. Positioned at midwicket, he settled under a high ball but went down while completing the take, raising doubts over whether he had touched the cushions. The decision was sent upstairs, and after a close review, the third umpire ruled it clean, confirming the dismissal despite visible uncertainty. Heinrich Klaasen, who was dismissed, appeared unhappy with the verdict as he walked off.Kishan’s innings had been the backbone of Hyderabad’s total. Leading the side, he smashed 80 off 38 balls with eight fours and five sixes, adding 97 runs with Klaasen for the fourth wicket after early setbacks. His aggressive approach kept SRH in the contest despite a strong spell from Jacob Duffy.However, Salt’s stunning effort shifted the momentum back towards Bengaluru at a key moment. With Kishan gone, SRH lost some momentum in the death overs and eventually finished on 201 for nine, a total that looked slightly below par given the platform they had built.In a match that marked the return of IPL action to the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Salt’s fielding stood out as one of the defining moments of the innings.

The Indian Premier League 2026 kicked off in style at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, March 28, drawing a star-studded crowd as Royal Challengers Bengaluru faced Sunrisers Hyderabad. Among those in attendance was Anushka Sharma, who turned up to cheer for her husband Virat Kohli. This was a treat for fans who missed seeing Virat and Anushka when during World Cup 2026, one saw Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni with their wives, cheering for Team India. She was joined by RCB Women’s Premier League stars Smriti Mandhana and Shreyanka Patil, along with Jemimah Rodrigues. Their appearance came shortly after the women’s team’s title-winning run, underlining the growing bond between the men’s and women’s squads.Anushka, who had kept a relatively low public profile in recent months, made a much-anticipated return to the stands, delighting fans. The ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’ actor was seen enjoying the match alongside Mandhana, and their presence quickly became a talking point on social media. Dressed in a chic floral top and denims, Anushka exuded effortless elegance, while Mandhana, fresh from captaining RCB’s successful WPL campaign, was equally enthusiastic in supporting the team. Their easy camaraderie and visible excitement for the game sparked a wave of viral moments across social media.