India have beaten the New Zealand women's cricket team by eight wickets to force their five match one-day series on the subcontinent to a decider.
New Zealand White Ferns Captain Suzie Bates Photo: PHOTOSPORT
India produced a record-breaking run chase led by captain Mithali Raj in Bengaluru.
The White Ferns batted first and scored 221 runs, before Raj top-scored for her team with an 88-ball 81 as India strung together solid partnerships to achieve its highest ever chase at home, completing the win with 34 balls to spare.
It's India's highest run chase at home, but second highest anywhere - bettered only by their 230/5 at Lord's in 2012.
Raj is now just the second woman in One-Day International cricket to post 5000 career runs.
After having lost eight One-Day International tosses in a row, the New Zealand captain Suzie Bates had been delighted to win the toss and jumped at an opportunity to bat first.
She put on 62 for the second wicket with Amy Satterthwaite after fellow opener Rachel Priest had edged a good length delivery from strike bowler Jhulan Goswami to slip in the third over.
Satterthwaite (43 off 55) had looked in dangerous touch until she was bowled looking to sweep a quicker, flatter delivery from Harmanpreet Kaur, but her exit in the 19th over made way for Sophie Devine at the top of her game.
Sophie Devine once again glued the Ferns' innings together as she powered to her fifth ODI half-century off 76 balls.
With only two wickets in hand, the onus was all on Devine to maximise the strike and she charged at the 48th over, hitting a good length delivery on off stump from Niranjana over deep midwicket for six to be 83 by over's end.
But a wicket maiden in the penultimate over doused hopes of a Devine hundred.
She scored another six runs in the last over before she was bowled on the second-to-last ball of the innings, her fine 89 having come off 102 balls, including 10 boundaries and three sixes.
The series is now level at 2-2, with the fifth and deciding ODI is at the same venue today at 3:20pm NZ time.
