India's batting faltered once more as New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine led her team to a 76-run victory in the second women's one-day international on Sunday.
Devine scored a dominant 79 off 86 balls, including seven fours and one six. She formed an important 82-run fifth-wicket partnership with Maddy Green (42 off 41 balls), propelling New Zealand to a competitive total of 259 for nine.
Devine also performed admirably with the ball, taking 3/27 as New Zealand’s bowlers combined to dismiss India for 183, with No 9 Radha Yadav's resilient 48.
Lea Tahuhu (3/42) claimed three wickets for the White Ferns, while Jess Kerr (2/49) and Eden Carson (2/32) provided timely dismissals.
Chasing 260, India struggled early, falling to 26 for 3 in five overs. Smriti Mandhana's difficulties continued with a two-ball dismissal by Tahuhu, while opener Shafali Verma (11) hit two boundaries before being caught behind by Kerr. Yastika Bhatia (12) also left early as India's top order failed.
Harmanpreet Kaur, who returned after missing the first ODI due to injury hit 24 runs and shared a 38-run stand with Jemimah Rodrigues (17) before both fell. Tejal Hasabnis (15) and Deepti Sharma (15) failed to capitalise on their starts, leaving India at 102 for 7 in 26 overs.
They had fallen to 102 for 7 by the 26th over before Radha and Saima Thakor (29) came back with a 70-run partnership for the ninth wicket, keeping India's hopes alive.
However, Kerr broke the partnership by removing Thakor and India were all out in 47.1 overs, allowing New Zealand to draw the series 1-1.
Earlier, New Zealand's openers Suzie Bates (58 off 70 balls) and Georgia Plimmer (41 off 50) got their team off to a good start, scoring 87 runs in under 16 overs.
India responded by capturing early wickets including Radha Yadav's superb backward catch which earned leg-spinner Priya Mishra her first international wicket.
Yadav was involved in three of New Zealand's first four dismissals prompting a momentary drop for the visitors when Brooke Halliday was sent off following Yadav's excellence on the pitch. But Devine and Green put New Zealand back on track.
Green's 42 contained five boundaries giving stability for the visitors after losing the first match of the three-game series.
For India, left-arm spinner Yadav was the most successful bowler taking four wickets but surrendering 69 runs in ten overs, while Deepti Sharma grabbed 2/30.
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