Queenstown, Feb 17: Staring at another series defeat, a struggling India will welcome the return of star opener Smriti Mandhana for the third women’s ODI against New Zealand here on Friday.
Mandhana, the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year, had exited mandatory quarantine in Christchurch to join the squad ahead of second ODI but needed a few days to get match ready.
Pacers Renuka Singh and Meghna Singh are also available for selection after completing their quarantine. Lead pacer Jhulan Goswami, who had to miss the second game due to a neck spasm, is also expected to play on Friday.
In their previous game, the bowlers let the team down as they were unable to defend a competitive 271-run target. Goswami’s absence was also felt as only 10 overs of pace was used with Pooja Vastrakar bowling seven overs and debutant Simran Bahadur three. The spinners did not leak a lot of runs but were unable to get the breakthroughs. (PTI)
