2nd ODI: Harmanpreet returns, Priya debuts as NZ opt to bat

India lead the three-match series 1-0 after a 59-run win in the opener, with debutants Tejal Hasabnis and Saima Thakor shining with bat and ball, respectively. Harmanpreet returned from a minor injury for Sunday’s match, replacing Dayalan Hemalatha in the lineup.

Ahmedabad: Harmanpreet Kaur is back to captain India while leg-spinner Priya Mishra was handed an international debut as New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first in the second women’s ODI at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.

India are leading the three-match series 1-0 after winning the series opener by 59 runs, where debutants Tejal Hasabnis and Saima Thakor impressed with bat and ball respectively. Harmanpreet is back after missing the first game due to a niggle, and replaced Dayalan Hemalatha in the playing eleven for Sunday’s match.

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Priya, the young leg-spinner from Delhi, came in for Renuka Singh Thakur. The youngster, who was with the Gujarat Giants’ team in this year’s Women’s Premier League (WPL), had picked a sensational 5-14 to help India A beat Australia A in the third 50-over game of the multi-format tour in August.

New Zealand have made two changes – left-arm spinner Fran Jonas and pacer Lea Tahuhu replaced Amelia Kerr, who’s out of the series due to a left quadriceps tear, and fast-bowler Molly Penfold.

Sunday’s match will be played on a pitch that is a mixture of red and black soil instead of the red soil one used in first ODI on October 24, with 58m of square boundaries and 67m being the measurement of straight boundaries.

In his pitch report, former India women’s head coach and ex men’s team player WV Raman said he is expecting inconsistent bounce and pace from the pitch.

Playing XIs

India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Jemimah Rodrigues, Tejal Hasabnis, Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav, Arundhati Reddy, Saima Thakor, and Priya Mishra

New Zealand: Suzie Bates, Georgia Plimmer, Lauren Down, Sophie Devine (captain), Brooke Halliday, Maddy Green, Izzy Gaze (wk), Jess Kerr, Lea Tahuhu, Eden Carson and Fran Jonas