The fairy-tale comeback of White Ferns all-rounder Frankie Mackay appears to be over, after she injured an ankle in the T20 victory over India in Wellington on Wednesday.
Mackay, 28, was returning to the NZ women's cricket team five years after her last international appearance, after outstanding form for Canterbury in domestic competition.
But she was forced to limp off with an ankle injury, after bowling just three balls of her opening against the Indians. Captain Amy Satterthwaite had to finish Mackay's over and removed opener Priya Punia with her second ball.
Mackay appeared to twist her ankle while fielding the ball and was later seen on crutches, wearing a moon boot.
"Unfortunately, she's done a bit of damage to her ankle, I think," said veteran Sophie Devine on Thursday.
"She was hobbling around the hotel this morning on crutches, so I think we're keeping a bit of an eye on her, but it's not looking too good."
Earlier, Mackay had played an important part in the White Ferns batting performance, closing the 159-run innings with 38-run partnership off 21 balls with wicketkeeper Katey Martin.
But during that stand, the pair collided heavily mid-pitch and had to gather themselves again for the remaining overs.
New Zealand dismissed India for 136 to record a 23-run victory in the first of three T20 encounters this week.
After comprehensive defeats against the tourists in their opening two one-day matches, the White Ferns have turned that momentum around, taking out the third ODI and now the opening T20 fixture.
"The thing that's frustrating for us is that it took the first couple of games to work out plans, especially against their bowlers," reflected Devine, who smashed 62 runs off 48 balls to lead the charge with the bat.
"Everyone knows their slow bowlers are really effective and we were a little slow on the uptake to come up with some really strong plans.
"We've seen that when we get that right, we're a really threatening team. There's still plenty of work for us to do - we know that - and the Indian side have shown they're a real threat."
The two teams have moved north for their second T20 encounter at Auckland's Eden Park on Friday.
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