Bengaluru, July 2 (IANS): India will need to pull up their socks, especially in the fielding department, when they taken on a rejuvenated New Zealand in the third of the five-match women's cricket ODI series here on Friday.

After losing the opening tie, the Kiwis came back hard at the Indians to win the second match to make it 1-1 and the hosts can expect another tough game on the morrow at the Mangalam Chinnaswamy Stadium here.

The Indians were let down in Wednesday's second match due to some sloppy fielding as the Kiwis hunted down a target of 164 to win by three wickets.

If anything, the Kiwis also looked better set in batting with sizeable contributions coming from both top and middle-order batters, in sharp contrast to the Indian performance that has been mostly individualistic.

The first three matches of the series are part of the eight-team International Cricket Council (ICC) World Championships with points counting towards qualification for the 2017 World Cup. India are currently on five points and the Kiwis have six.