Australia's women's cricket team have lost momentum in the 50-over format ahead of their New Zealand tour, skipper Meg Lanning has admitted.
At Bellerive Oval on Sunday, India posted a solid five-wicket win against the home side who nevertheless claimed 2-1 the three-match series.
Lanning accepted the match was not a good launching pad for NZ.
"It was a pretty disappointing performance," the captain said after the final of the one-day international series.
"We were keen to come in and finish the series off well and keep the momentum going that we'd created."
After reaching 7-231 with the bat, Australia's fielding performance was lacklustre, worsening in the final 10 overs with misfields and dropped catches as the visitors got to 5-234 with three overs to spare.
It was a far cry from Tuesday's 101-run victory in Canberra, followed by Friday's six-wicket win in Hobart which secured the series.
Lanning blamed a loss of concentration for the fielding sloppiness but added she's confident of improvement for NZ, where the side plays the first of a three-match ODI series on February 20.
"They're going to be very tough," Lanning said of the Kiwi opposition.
"They've had a number of players out in the WBBL this season and they've looked in very good form, all of them."
For India, it's a quick turnaround before they host Sri Lanka for the first of an ODI series next Monday.
Captain Mithali Raj said her side leaves Australia on a high after Sunday's win.
"Even though we lost the series the points were at stake and we wanted to gain those two points and leave Australia with a winning note," she said.
"It gives a lot of confidence when we get into our next home series against Sri Lanka."
