Captain Sophie Devine has led the world champion White Ferns to a convincing 79-run one-day victory over India at Ahmedabad, levelling their three-match series.
Electing to bat first, the NZ women scored 259/9, with openers Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer continuing their fruitful partnership from the T20 World Cup triumph with 87 runs for the first wicket.
That stand ended, when Plimmer holed out to Radha Yadav for 41, but Devine soon joined longtime ally Bates at the crease and provided the backbone of the innings. Bates was eventually caught and bowled by the excellent Yadav, but Devine combined with Maddy Green for a 82-run partnership that carried the Kiwis beyond 200 with seven overs to spare and six wickets still in hand.
The skipper eventually became Yadav's third victim with the ball for 79, including seven fours and a six.
India's chase never really picked up momentum, with veteran pace bowler Lea Tahuhu snaring the wicket of dangerous opener Smriti Mandhana with the fourth ball. The pursuit lost its way altogether, when captain Karmanpreet Kaur was caught off Devine's bowling for 24, with her team 77/5 in the 18th over.
The home side lost three wickets for eight runs midway through their innings, before tailenders Yadav and Saima Thakor rescued some respectability with a 70-run ninth-wicket stand.
Devine and veteran Lea Tahuhu had three wickets each, with wicketkeeper Izzy Gaze taking four catches behind the stumps.
"Pretty happy with that performance," reflected Devine. "I thought everyone stood up.
"We spoke about how we needed to play better cricket for longer periods of time and we did that. To be brutally honest, I thought we left 15-20 runs out there with the bat, but really happy with the way we finished.
"With the bat, to be able to consistently take wickets is always going to put a dampener on a run chase."
The deciding fixture is scheduled for Tuesday night (NZ time).
NZ 259/9 (Devine 79, Bates 58, Green 42, Plimmer 41; Yadav 4/69) India 183 (Yadav 48, Thakor 29, Kaur 24; Devine 3/27, Tahuhu 3/42)
NZ win by 79 runs
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