Indian women out to save Kiwi series

Auckland, Feb. 7: Mithali Raj’s inclusion could be the bone of contention for Indian women, who will be eyeing a much improved showing with the bat when they face an upbeat New Zealand in a must-win second T20 International here on Friday.

Indian batting is prone to collapses, especially from a position of strength. Chasing 160, India were going strong at 102 for 1 but Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues’ dismissal proved fatal for the visitors who collapsed to

136 all out, bringing back memories of their inexplicable surrender in the the

2017 50-over World Cup final against England.

Mithali’s years of experience could have come in handy in the series opener on Wednesday but she was dropped from the eleven.