New Zealand women forced to graft on first day

Close New Zealand 143 for 7 (Martin 46) v India
Scorecard

New Zealand made a poor start to their one-off Test against India, ending the first day on 143 for 7. Asked to bat on a pitch that offered little suggestion of how it would play, they lost two key wickets to disappointing decisions, but were propped up by Katey Martin (46) and Haidee Tiffin (38 not out).

Kate Pulford was given out caught behind in the first over of the match, even though her bat was well away from the ball (2 for 1). Then Maria Fahey, the other opener, was given out caught bat-pad when the ball went off her toe (21 for 2). The road to recovery was a slow grind and the scoring rate barely reached two runs per over throughout the 94 overs bowled.

Martin, who was one of six New Zealand women making their Test debuts, settled in for the long haul. Maia Lewis, New Zealand's captain, started aggressively but was caught off the bottom edge for only 9 (31 for 3).

Martin was joined by Tiffen, and they grafted their way to 81 before Martin, in sight of a half-century on debut, played back to Neetu David, the left-arm spinner, and was caught behind. Her 46 came off 139 balls in 176 minutes of batting.

The message was to build partnerships, but at every stage that one seemed to be developing, a wicket was lost. Tiffen produced a monumental display of control, given her natural attacking tendency, and by stumps she had batted for 264 minutes.

The pick of the Indian bowlers was Nooshin Al Khadeer who took 3 for 36 from 27 overs. David took 2 for 37 from 29 overs.