Current RR: 5.65
 • Last 5 ov (RR): 32/0 (6.40)
Down, who made a comeback from maternity break earlier this year, was included while Tahuhu was rested
Tejal Hasabnis and Saima Thakor made their debuts for India  •  BCCI
Toss India chose to bat vs New Zealand
India missed their captain Harmanpreet Kaur due to a niggle, and in her absence Smriti Mandhana won the toss and opted to bat in the opening women’s ODI against New Zealand. This is the first women’s ODI in Motera, Ahmedabad since April 2013.
India handed ODI caps to middle-order Maharashtra batter Tejal Hasabnis and Mumbai’s seam bowling-allrounder Saima Thakor, who played for UP Warriorz in WPL 2024. Arundhati Reddy and Renuka Singh were the other fast bowling options at India’s disposal while Deepti Sharma and Radha Yadav the spin options. D Hemalatha was carded in at No. 4 in the absence of Harmanpreet while Yastila Bhatia took the gloves and was slotted in at one-down.
New Zealand lined up similar to the way they had in their successful T20 World Cup campaign. Lauren Down, who made a comeback from maternity break earlier this year, was part of the lower middle order while tall fast bowler Molly Penfold also got a go. Fast bowler Lea Tahuhu, part of the experienced troika that includes captain Sophie Devine and Suzie Bates, was rested.
This series is important for New Zealand, who are in search of crucial ICC Women’s Championship points.
India: 1 Smriti Mandhana (capt), 2 Shafali Verma, 3 Yastika Bhatia (wk), 4 D Hemalatha, 5 Jemimah Rodrigues, 6 Tejal Hasabnis, 7 Deepti Sharma, 8 Radha Yadav, 9 Arundhati Reddy, 10 Saima Thakor, 11 Renuka Singh
New Zealand: 1 Suzie Bates, 2 Georgia Plimmer, 3 Amelia Kerr, 4 Sophie Devine (capt), 5 Brooke Halliday, 6 Maddy Green, 7 Lauren Down, 8 Isabella Gaze (wk), 9 Jess Kerr, 10 Molly Penfold, 11 Eden Carson
S Sudarshanan is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @Sudarshanan7
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