NZ vs Ind: Lauren Down, Katey Martin star as hosts gain 3-0 unassailable lead in ODI series

Queenstown [New Zealand], February 18 (ANI): Lauren Down and Katey Martin stitched together a partnership of 76 runs for the seventh wicket as New Zealand sprung a fantastic turnaround to defeat India by three wickets in the third ODI of the five-match series here at John Davies Oval, Queenstown on Friday.
With this win, New Zealand has gained an unassailable 3-0 lead in the ongoing five-match series. The fourth ODI will be played at the same venue on Tuesday. This chase of 280 is the second-highest chase recorded in the history of women's ODIs.
Chasing 280, New Zealand got off to a horrendous start as the side lost Sophie Devine (0) and Suzie Bates (5) with just 14 runs on the board and this brought Amelia Kerr and Amy Satterthwaite at the crease. The duo revived the innings for the hosts. The 103-run stand for the third wicket finally came to an end in the 24th over as Goswami dismissed Satterthwaite (59), with the White Ferns still 163 runs away from the target.
Sneh Rana got the crucial wicket of Amelia Kerr (67) in the 31st over, reducing New Zealand to 152/4, with the hosts still 128 runs away from the target. Renuka Singh then got her maiden ODI wicket in the 34th over as she sent Maddy Green (24) back to the hut and this left the hosts in a spot of bother.
Lauren Down and Katey Martin got together at the crease and the duo led White Ferns' fightback in the contest. Both batters stitched together a partnership of 76 runs for the seventh wicket but with New Zealand 33 runs away from the target, the hosts lost the wicket of Martin (35).
Down brought up her half-century in the 47th over of the innings and in the last three overs, New Zealand needed 23 runs to win. In the end, Down (64*) and Frances Mackay (17*) ensured that New Zealand took a 3-0 lead in the series.
Earlier, Deepti Sharma played an unbeaten knock of 69 while Sabbhineni Meghana (61) and Shafali Verma (51) also chipped in as India posted 279 runs on the board. On a rare-off day, Mithali Raj failed as she was dismissed after scoring just 23.
Harmanpreet Kaur's poor form continued as she was sent back to the pavilion after scoring just 13 off 22 balls. For New Zealand, Hannah Rowe and Rosemary Mair returned with two wickets each.
Brief Scores: India 279/10 (Deepti Sharma 69*, Sabbhineni Meghana 61; Rosemary Mair 2-43); New Zealand 280/7 (Amelia Kerr 67, Lauren Down 64*; Jhulan Goswami 3-47). (ANI)