The required run rate was close to six runs at that stage but wickets were still intact.

New Zealand's fielders were keeping the pressure on and demonstrating that while India had improved dramatically in that area, they still had a way to go to match the Kiwis.

Jaya Sharma made a bright start with eight runs from the second over, the first bowled by Louise Milliken with a boundary hit behind square leg and two twos in the same direction.

While Nicola Browne opened with two maidens from the other end, Milliken found full balls on leg stump being punished again in her second over.

It took 16 balls before Sumetra Paranjhe got off the mark as Sharma took a complete hold on scoring and it was into the 11th over before Paranjhe scored her next runs, four off a full toss in Kate Pulford's first over.

She followed that up with a lovely lofted drive for four in King's second over to move to nine.

At the 15-over mark Sharma was 27 not out and Paranjpe was on 12.

New Zealand totalled 248 for five wickets with Maia Lewis 17 not out and Sara McGlashan five not out.

New Zealand's score was its highest against India, surpassing the 224 for five wickets scored at Lincoln in 2000.

Payne was run out for 93, scored off 131 balls, in the 47th over when seeming troubled by cramping, but had achieved the highest score by a New Zealand batsmen against India with her score surpassing the 89 scored by Anna O'Leary in the CricInfo Women's World Cup of 2000 and Janette Dunning in India in 1984/85.

When she was out, New Zealand were in the strong position of 222 for four wickets. She had shared an 87-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Haidee Tiffen.

Tiffen scored her fifth half century soon after, off 47 balls, including six fours. However, she was out in the next over when undone by a slower ball from Jhulan Goswami and bowled for 52 with New Zealand 230 for five wickets.

Payne, who had played 37 ODIs for the Netherlands, was playing her 26th game for New Zealand. Her previous highest score for New Zealand was 60 scored against Ireland on last year's tour to Britain and Europe while her highest for the Netherlands was 73 not out against Denmark in a match at Husum in Germany in 1997.

Haidee Tiffen was perfectly equipped to keep the scoring momentum going with her fast running between the wickets. She also took full toll of Sumetra Paranjhe's first over, the 43rd, when taking 12 runs from, including two lovely off-driven boundaries, one which landed millimetres inside the boundary.

She raced to 35 and saw up the New Zealand 200 in the 44th off over, the fourth 50 coming off 43 balls. Payne was on 88 at the other end at that stage of the innings.

Nooshin-Al-Khadir picked up the early wickets of Rebecca Rolls and Emily Drumm to make an early breakthrough but Payne was in such good touch the scoring momentum never eased. Al-Khadir completed her 10 overs with two wickets for 41 runs.

Even Anjum Chopra couldn't escape the attention of Tiffen's bat with four runs powered to wide long on. By the end of the 45th over, 36 runs had come from three overs.

The Indian field was spread far and wide in a bid to contain the hitting, but to little avail.

Nicola Payne had achieved her highest international score of 65 and New Zealand were 150 for three wickets with Haidee Tiffen on five not out after 36 overs.

Emily Drumm, who had been dismissed for a duck in the opening game against Australia, took 12 balls to get off the mark, and then on three she became Al-Khadir's second wicket in her first spell when also caught at mid-off by Rumeli Dhar for three.

Nicola Payne maintained her scoring rate to keep New Zealand building with confidence and the 100 was achieved in the 22nd over off 126 balls.

She scored the fourth half century of her international career which includes matches for the Netherlands, and her second for New Zealand. She played two lovely on-drives to the boundary of Rumeli Dahr to bring up the milestone off 81 balls and including five fours.

But in the 32nd over, her 47-run partnership with Kate Pulford was ended with a disastrous run out when Pulford didn't answer the call and was still in her ground when Payne completed her run. Pulford set off but a direct hit from Mithali Raj saw her well out having scored 21 runs.

New Zealand were 139 for three at that stage.

Nooshin-Al-Khadir had been the pick of the Indian bowlers with two wickets for 30 runs from her eight overs.

New Zealand were 79 for one wicket with Nicola Payne on 28 not out and Emily Drumm, the new batsman having faced two balls without score.

New Zealand made a sound start through Rolls and Payne. When not punishing the loose balls, of which there was a steady supply, they were running sharply to put the pressure on the Indian field.

It was a different sort of pressure than what they had faced against the more diffident England side in yesterday's match. They brought up their 50 partnership off 65 balls in 43 minutes.

They both took toll of chances to get the ball through mid-wicket while two cut shots in the ninth over, bowled by Jhulan Goswami, one behind point and one through the point area were a hint of growing confidence from Payne, who had been dropped by wicket-keeper Sulaksna Naik when on five, also from Goswami.

Then in Anjum Chopra's first over, Payne played a lovely off drive to the boundary to move to 23 and then followed that immediately with three through mid-wicket.

She was heading off her usually faster batting partner in Rolls at stages. They increased the scoring tempo at one stage with 12 runs coming from the ninth over, four from the 10th, and 10 each from the 11th and 12th overs which resulted in Chopra bringing off spinner Nooshin-Al-Khadir to bowl the 13th over by which stage New Zealand were 62 without loss.

But even that move couldn't slow the home side with one ball wide of off stump being powered over cover-point by Rolls and the next ball was swung behind square leg for another boundary. Eleven runs came from the over.

However, Al-Khadir had some reward in the 15th over, her second, when Rolls attempted to straight drive the ball to the boundary. However Rumeli Dhar fielding at a straight mid on was able to hold the hard-blasted drive to see Rolls out for 38 off 42 balls when New Zealand were 79 for one.

India achieved a comfortable six-wicket win over England when Nooshin-Al-Khadir achieved the best bowling figures by an Indian woman when taking five wickets for 14 runs.

New Zealand go into the game needing a victory after their first round loss to Australia on Sunday. The side will be looking for a more convincing batting performance, especially from its top order.

India can expect to provide the New Zealanders with a much tougher contest than was the case when New Zealand beat them during the tri-series staged in England last summer.

The fielding of the Indian side has improved significantly with better catching and good throwing achieving two run outs from direct hits against England yesterday.

Conditions for the match are vastly improved on yesterday with sunny conditions and the wind from the north-east quadrant, in contrast to yesterday's drizzly conditions with a southerly wind.

The teams are:

New Zealand: Emily Drumm (captain), Rebecca Rolls, Nicola Payne, Kate Pulford, Haidee Tiffen, Maia Lewis, Sara McGlashan, Frances King, Nicola Browne, Rebecca Steele, Louise Milliken. (12th man - Michelle Lynch).

India: Anjum Chopra (captain), Mithali Raj, Jaya Sharma, Sumetra Paranjhe, Neetu David, Rumeli Dhar, Amita Sharma, Nooshin-Al-Khadir, Sulaksna Naik, Hemlata Kala, Jhulan Goswami. (12th man - Babita Mondilka).

The umpires are: Dave Quested and Evan Watkin.