The hosts turned the tables, this time. They asked India to bat, and restricted them to 149 in 44 overs, despite Deepti Sharma’s 90-ball 52. Anna Peterson returned 4/28 and Lea Tahuhu chipped in with 3/26 as New Zealand dismantled India.

Thereafter, Suzie Bates got going with a 64-ball 57 as did captain Amy Satterthwaite, who scored a 74-ball 66*. New Zealand coasted through in 29.2 overs, and the victory helped them jump to No.2 on the IWC table, pushing India to third.

It was all markedly different to how the series has progressed so far. India struggled batting first, and that had much to do with the explosive Smriti Mandhana (1) being dismissed early by Peterson. Jemimah Rodrigues, her opening partner, fell in the very next over, and it was down to Sharma and captain Mithali Raj to rebuild.

Sharma looked solid at one end, but Raj, after looking to soak in the pressure, fell after a 28-ball 9 to Leigh Kasperek, ending a 26-run stand for the third wicket. It was not the way Raj would have hoped her 200th ODI appearance would go.

But Sharma had support again when Harmanpreet Kaur walked in. The two added 48 vital runs for the fourth wicket, taking the total to 87. Kaur scored a 40-ball 24, finding the fence twice, but just when India were prepared to kick on, she had her stumps knocked back by Peterson.

There was no real resistance from India thereafter. Sharma went on to claim her 10th ODI half-century, and the likes of Dayalan Hemalatha (13) and Jhulan Goswami (12) scored the odd boundary, but the lower-order largely crumbled for single-digit scores, and the innings was ended within 44 overs.

New Zealand were never really troubled in their chase, as is usually the case when Bates gets going. With plenty of time to chase this down, the home side were unhurried and rarely flustered, even after Lauren Down was run out for 10 in the 7th over.

Bates had Amy Satterhwaite, the captain, for company, and their 84-run stand took the game away from India. The two ensured the boundaries kept flowing, almost every over, and it wasn’t long before Bates brought up her 25th ODI half-century in 59 balls.

Unfortunately for New Zelanad, she was dismissed soon after, her 64-ball knock comprising eight fours and a six. Despite that, Satterthwaite had good company in Sophie Devine, who came in at No.4 and scored a 19-ball 17*.

Undaunted by Bates’ dismissal, Satterthwaite kept going, bringing up her own fifty off 60 balls. And it was fitting that the captain finished off the chase with consecutive fours off Sharma.

The teams will now contest in three T20Is, the first of which will be played in Wellington on 6 February.