Amelia Kerr
notched her second ODI century as New Zealand beat India by three wickets to
take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series at Queenstown’s John Davies Oval on
Tuesday. Kerr’s unbeaten 119 from 135 deliveries anchored the chase as the hosts
chased down the 271-run target in 49 overs.

After a
breezy start by the openers, India struck thrice in quick succession to leave the
Kiwis reeling at 55 for the loss of three in the ninth over. Deepti Sharma, who
was the pick of the Indian bowlers with figures of 4 for 52 from 10 overs,
struck first to remove Suzie Bates (16) before Rajeshwari Gayakwad removed Sophie
Devine (33).

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Skipper Amy
Satterthwaite departed for a golden duck as Sharma got her second scalp of the
match before Kerr and Maddy Green (52) stitched a 128-run stand for the fourth wicket to
get the hosts back on track.

Poonam Yadav
broke the partnership, removing Green and wickets kept tumbling for New Zealand
while Kerr remained resilient at the other end.

Kerr was
running out of partners as Sharma struck twice in quick succession to remove Katey
Martin (20) and Hayley Jensen after Harmanpreet Kaur dismissed Brooke Halliday (13)
and was joined by her sister Jess at the crease. The Kerr sisters held their
nerves at the death, seeing out the win with an over to spare.

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Earlier, India
won the toss and chose to bat. Shafali Verma (24) and Sabbhineni Meghana (49) added
61 runs for the opening stand before fifties from Mithali Raj (66) and Richa
Ghosh (65) lead the visitors to a respectable total.

The next ODI
is scheduled for Friday, February 18. All five matches are being played at the
John Davies Oval in Queenstown.