AHMEDABAD: India Women's bowling and fielding more than made up for their average batting display against New Zealand Women in the first ODI, but the batters will be looking to convert their starts as the hosts look to wrap up the series when the two teams clash in the second ODI here in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Opener Smriti Mandhana will be looking to get back to form while her batting partner Shafali Verma would look to convert a quickfire start into a big knock. The likes of Yastika Bhatia, Dayalan Hemalatha, Jemimah Rodrigues, Tejal Hasabnis all got starts in the opening encounter but failure to make it count meant the hosts ended up with a middling total.
Still caught in the celebrations of their maiden T20 World Cup triumph, New Zealand can be pardoned for a one-off indifferent performance with the bat. However, they will look to iron out the flaws that plagued their batting lineup on Thursday - veteran Suzie Bates and captain Sophie Devine, who had a mediocre day with the bat, would like to spend more time in the middle.
Asked if they would take inspiration from the New Zealand men's team's first-ever series triumph in India, NZ Women coach Ben Sawyer said, "It's been amazing to watch the boys and what they've done over the last couple of games. It's a pretty big day."
While opener Georgia Plimmer and middle-order batters Brooke Halliday and Maddy Green got starts, the inability to convert those to substantial scores would've hurt them. The White Ferns will be eyeing some solid partnerships.
However, NZ Women received a blow on Saturday morning when allrounder Amelia Kerr was ruled out of the remaining ODIs after tearing her left quadricep muscle.
