Indian women's team suffers 18-run loss to New Zealand in one-off T20 International
Senior opener and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana did not play and her absence was felt badly as India fell short by 18 runs while chasing 156 for a win. Rookie Yastika Bhatia, who opened in place of Mandhana along with young Shafali Verma, did reasonably well with a run-a-ball 26 (2x4; 1x6) but India never looked like they could chase down the target against an impressive New Zealand bowling attack. The opening stand was worth 41 runs in 6.3 overs and that was the highest partnership for India.


