AHMEDABAD: Opener and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (100 off 122 balls; 10x4) answered questions about her form with a timely century as India chased down a 233- run target with six wickets to spare in the third and final ODI against New Zealand here on Tuesday.
With meaningful contributions from captain Harmanpreet Kaur (59 not out; 63b; 6x4), No. 3 Yastika Bhatia (35; 49b; 4x4) and finishing touches from Jemimah Rodrigues (22; 18b; 4x4), the hosts chased down the target in 44.2 overs to take the series 2-1.
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India’s pursuit of 233 commenced with Shafali Verma striking two exquisite boundaries before she was caught down the leg side by Isabella Gaze off pacer Hannah Rowe. However, Mandhana and Bhatia batted in a composed manner, rotating the strike and hitting the odd bad ball for boundaries as India reached 40 for 1 in the first 10 overs.
Mandhana’s first boundary came off the 27th delivery she faced while Bhatia got off the mark with a straight drive off Lea Tahuhu. Smriti lofted Eden Carson for a boundary over mid off before Yastika smashed the same bowler over extra cover for another four. Bhatia then hit Sophie Devine straight down the ground before spooning a catch back to the bowler off the next ball.
Harmanpreet and Smriti's partnership started off slowly but eventually all the bowlers bore the brunt of their hitting prowess. Devine was struck for three boundaries while left-arm spinner Fran Jonas and pacer Rowe were smashed to all parts of the ground.
Smriti was bowled just after she completed her hundred, off Rowe’s scrambled seam delivery. Jemimah's cameo, in which she struck four exquisite boundaries, was cut short by Jonas, who trapped her in front.
Earlier, India had New Zealand in a spot of bother, first at 36 for 3 and then again at 88 for 5, but the White Ferns added 144 runs for the last five wickets to reach 232 in 49.5 overs.
Brief Scores: India 236 for 4 (Mandhana 100, Harmanpreet 59; Rowe 2 for 47) beat New Zealand 232 (Halliday 86, Deepti 3 for 39, Mishra 2 for 41) by 6 wickets.
