After 30 overs, India were 121 for two wickets.

Batting in perfect conditions, she was moving at almost a run-a-ball pace with some crisply-timed shots, especially through the off-side in the area between third man and long off.

None of the New Zealand bowlers were able to contain her, although off spinner Aimee Mason, who bowled unchanged through her 10 overs for two wickets for 21 runs, came closest.

Amanda Green could consider herself unlucky when having chances dropped off both Raj and Sharma within a few balls of each other.

Raj shared a 56-run stand with Jaya Sharma for the second wicket and an unbroken third-wicket stand of 59 with Hemlata Kala, who had contributed 16. Their 50 stand was off 61 balls. The 100 came up off 153 balls.

Raj was 73 not out and relishing the conditions on a pitch which is being used for its fifth game of the tournament.

At the 15-over mark, India were 52 for one with Raj on 36 scored from 41 balls and Jaya Sharma on 10 not out.

Raj had seen off Nicola Browne whose four overs went for 21 runs while her replacement Amanda Green conceded 21 from her first four overs.

New Zealand employed the Dipak Patel theory when having off spinner Aimee Mason open the innings in tandem with Brown. And the plan worked as Anjum Chopra hit a soft catch to close cover fieldsman Maia Lewis for the simplest of catches in Mason's second over.

India were one for six at that stage.

However, New Zealand were unable to maintain the pressure and in the next over two fours, cut by Mithali Raj and three on driven saw the score lift by 13 off the over.

Raj was quick to hit anything slightly off line or too full and once again hinted at the skill that looked capable of upsetting better teams if consistent support could be found for her.

From the position of 181 for two wickets at the start of the 36th over, New Zealand ended on 239 for nine wickets having lost their last seven wickets for 52.

Emily Drumm brought up her 50 off 76 balls and then got bowled by Hemlata Kala for 51 when New Zealand had reached 181. She and Maia Lewis had added 94 runs for the third wicket. New Zealand hit 15 boundaries in their innings, 12 of them to Rebecca Rolls, but none after the 26th over.

Haidee Tiffen followed Drumm but was caught at the wicket by Sulaksna Naik for two runs.

Lewis was still there and ended with the responsibility of seeing New Zealand through to the end of their 50 overs.

She brought up only the second half century of her international career which has just resumed after a six-year break, off 80 balls. It was indicative of the way she worked the ball around the field throughout her innings that she hit only one boundary in her first 50.

Having reached the mark she then offered a sharp return chance to Nooshin-Al-Khadir who put it down, but two balls later she attempted to hit back over the bowler's head and miscued the ball to point where Neetu David held the catch. New Zealand were 199 for five wickets.

The 200 came up off 258 balls.

Sara McGlashan was out stumped when straying from her ground momentarily after playing a ball from Hemlata Kala. She scored 13 and New Zealand, in the 46th over were 210 for six wickets.

Frances King attempted to hit out with Aimee Mason but when on five she hit the ball straight to cover fieldsman Rumeli Dahr. Then in the 49th over Mason advanced a little too far down the pitch to Al-Khadir and was stumped for 17 with New Zealand 231 for eight wickets. Two balls later Amanda Green was bowled for a duck.

Neetu David had been given severe treatment by Drumm and Lewis with 50 runs coming from her 10 overs.

Indian spinner Bindeshwari Goyal was taken to hospital with an arm problem that was causing her intense pain. It was either a suspected pull of a muscle or a suspected broken arm. She had bowled eight overs for 29 runs. And she is not expected to take any further part in the match.

Nooshin-Al-Khadir finished with four for 38 from nine overs.

Given a jet-propelled thrust at the top of the order by Rebecca Rolls who scored 59 off 37 balls, which included the fastest 50 in women's ODIs off 30 balls, New Zealand were 170 for two at the second drinks break after 33 overs.

Emily Drumm was 49 not out off 74 balls and Maia Lewis 34 not out off 58.

Experience proved the key as Drumm and Lewis attempted to restore some rhythm to New Zealand's scoring rate. They worked the ball around and picked up singles, almost at ease. As they picked things up the panic started to occur in the field and there were more runs on offer.

Drumm was especially adept in using the sweep shot against left-arm spinner Neetu David while Lewis preferred to play more powerful shots square of the wicket and to mid-wicket. David conceded 35 runs off her first six overs which was more runs than she had conceded in earlier matches.

What was encouraging from the New Zealand perspective was the way the pair used their feet to get down the wicket to the spinners. Bindeshwari Goyal proved less costly than her more experienced partner with 16 runs off her first 16 overs.

Jhulan Goswami had two for 40 from her unbroken spell of eight overs.

At the 15-over mark, New Zealand were 88 for two wickets with Emily Drumm on five and Maia Lewis on one.

New Zealand made a sensational start with Rumeli Dhar coming in for heavy treatment from Rolls as 38 runs were taken from her three overs.

Once Dhar was taken out of the attack Jhulan Goswami came in for some stick as well with Rolls hitting successive boundaries with a cover drive and a sweep shot.

It was a phenomenal display by the Auckland policewoman who was given out caught by wicket-keeper Sulaksna Naik, from Goswami's bowling, although it took a nod from square leg umpire Jeremy Busby to bowler's end umpire Dave Quested for the decision to be given.

However, Rolls was clearly upset by the Indian appeal and there was a discussion at the wicket before she left.

Her 59 came off 37 balls and included 12 fours, it was her eighth half-century. New Zealand's opening partnership was worth 82 runs.

Goswami backed the dismissal by having Lynch caught at mid-off by Nooshin-Al-Khadir for 13 in the next over. Goswami had taken two for 40 from the eight overs she had bowled.

It was left to captain Emily Drumm and Maia Lewis to attempt to resurrect the innings and the pace slowed a little as they took 16 balls to get a run on the board at one stage.

The match is the first in the second round of the tournament. New Zealand won the first round game when India fell 83 runs short of their target of 249. The Indians gave up their run chase very early in that match and opted to bat out time with captain Anjum Chopra guilty of taking too long over her innings.

India come into the game having made a fine start to their innings against Australia yesterday when Chopra and Mithali Raj hit out strongly before an inevitable batting collapse once the breakthrough had been made.

A win today by New Zealand would virtually assure them of a place in Saturday's final.

New Zealand will still be without opening batsman Nicola Payne who scored 93 in the last match against India. She suffered a hamstring strain in that innings and is still troubled by it.

The teams are:

India: Anjum Chopra (captain), Mithali Raj, Jaya Sharma, Neetu David, Rumeli Dhar, Reema Maholtra, Nooshin-Al-Khadir, Sulaksna Naik, Bindeshwari Goyal, Hemlate Kala, Jhulan Goswami. (12th man - Babita Mandilka).

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

The umpires are: Dave Quested and Jeremy Busby.