India avoided a clean sweep with a six-wicket win in the final ODI of the five-match series in New Zealand, at the John Davies Oval in Queenstown. They rode on fifties from Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur, and Mithali Raj to chase 252 set up by New Zealand with four overs to spare.
Mandhana forged stands of 60 with Deepti Sharma and 64 with Kaur to set the foundation for the chase. She fell for 71 when she holed out to Suzie Bates off Amelia Kerr. Kaur (63) notched her first fifty of the tour (and third since the 2017 World Cup), and added 72 with Raj to ensure a comfortable win. Raj remained unbeaten on 57, scoring the winning run off Frances Mackay in the 46th over.
Earlier, Meghna Singh provided India with an early breakthrough, pinning Suzie Bates leg-before on 17. Sophie Devine (34) and Amelia Kerr then added 67 in 12 overs for the second wicket. Kerr top-scored with 66, while Hayley Jensen and Lauren Down scored 30 each, as New Zealand finished on 251/9. For India, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Sneh Rana, and Deepti Sharma claimed two wickets each.
New Zealand 251/9 in 50 overs (Amelia Kerr 66; Sneh Rana 2-40) lost to India 255/4 in 46 overs (Smriti Mandhana 71; Hayley Jensen 1-29) by 6 wickets with 24 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Smriti Mandhana.
New Zealand won the series 4-1. Player of the Series: Amelia Kerr.