India Look For Consistency From Batters To Seal Series; NZ's Amelia Kerr Ruled Out Of ODIs

Indian team will aim for an improved performance from its batters in their quest to seal the series when they face New Zealand in the second women’s ODI here on Sunday.

Even though India won the first match comfortably by 59 runs, batters squandered starts as the Indian innings were littered with multiple 30s and 40s.

The hosts would want a change of script in this match, and skipper Smriti Mandhana will have to lead the charge, which in the last match was done by debutant Tejal Hasabnis.

The elegant left-hander got out for eight in the opening match, continuing her lean run over the last month or so.

She can fall back upon the memories of a fine run against South Africa earlier this July when she cracked runs for fun, including two big hundreds.

Along with Mandhana’s form, the Indian camp will also keep an eye on the fitness of regular skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who missed the previous match with an unspecified niggle.

India all-rounder Deepti Sharma said there was no discussion on batting and the idea will be to spend more time in the middle to get better.

"According to the wicket, we had a decent total of 200 plus on the board. But yes, the more we can play in the 50 overs, the better it will be for us. So, I don't think there was much talk about that," she said during the press conference.

"The track is going to remain the same. It's not much different. But if we bat first, the more time we spend on the wicket, the better it will be. Because our partnership after the fourth wicket was a positive for us. We can take that to the next match." On the bowling front, India will be delighted with debutant pacer Saima Thakor’s impressive performance the other night, along with left-arm spinner Radha Yadav’s return to wicket-taking form in this format.

"We bowled in the second half. It was under lights, so it felt good. And we bowled in partnership. So, it's a positive that we can apply for tomorrow's match," Deepti said.

On the other hand, New Zealand’s ambition to square the series received a severe blow as talismanic all-rounder Amelia Kerr was ruled out of the series with a left quadricep muscle tear that she sustained in the first match.

Kerr, who will return home on Sunday, will require approximately three weeks to recover from her Grade One injury.

“We’re really gutted for Melie,” said White Ferns head coach Ben Sawyer.

“We know how disappointed she is to not be able to play these games. Everyone knows how much of an integral part of this team Melie is so we’ll certainly miss her but we’re wishing her a speedy recovery,” said Sawyer.

Kerr was the standout performer for New Zealand in the first ODI with a four-wicket haul.

She will not be replaced in the squad with the final game of the series to be played in three days’ time.

Teams (from): India: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, D. Hemalatha, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Yastika Bhatia, Uma Chetry, Sayali Satgare, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, Tejal Hasabnis, Saima Thakor, Priya Mishra, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil.

New Zealand: Sophie Devine (c), Suzie Bates, Eden Carson, Lauren Down, Izzy Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Polly Inglis, Fran Jonas, Jess Kerr, Amelia Kerr, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Lea Tahuhu.

Match starts at 1.30pm.