(Cricket news) Indian women suffered a heavy 62 run defeat in the opening ODI against New Zealand. As expected Smriti Mandhana, Meghna Singh and Renuka Singh Thakur weren't a part of the squad due to quarantine issues. Captain Mithali Raj won the toss and put New Zealand into bat.

The White ferns batted really well throughout the innings. Suzie Bates scored a fine 106 off 110 to give her side a brilliant start. Vice captain Amy Satterthwaite scored 63 off 67 and provided great support to Bates. New Zealand at one point were 204 for 2 and looked to be set to cross the 300 mark but the Indian bowlers pulled back. Jhulan Goswami, Pooja Vastrakar, Deepti Sharma and Rajeshwari Gaikwad got two wickets each while Poonam Yadav chipped in with a scalp. India took a big gamble by playing only 2 seamers. With Meghna Singh and Renuka Singh Thakur in quarantine they only had the option of Simran Dil Bahadur but they decided against it. Spin bowling All-rounder Sneh Rana who was brilliant in the Australia series was also on the bench.

India got off to a disastrous start after losing Shafali Verma and makeshift opener S. Meghna with just 17 runs on the board after 5 overs. Skipper Mithali Raj and Yastika Bhatia steadied things with a 98 run partnership. India couldn't keep partnerships building and lost wickets at regular intervals. Vice captain Harmanpreet continued her terrible international form despite having a great WBBL.

India will not mind losing the game especially when they are missing 3 key players. After the game Mithali Raj said that the side needs to get to a score of 270 batting 1st or 2nd on a more consistent basis. India definitely needs to get used to the conditions before the World Cup which is the whole point of the series. India will be hoping to get back Mandhana, Singh and Thakur for the next game to play their best side for the next 4 games.

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