In New Delhi, Vaishnavi Adkar made a strong comeback, winning 6-2, 6-4 against Aishi Das in the opening singles, giving India a 1-0 lead against New Zealand in their second Billie Jean King Cup match on Wednesday.
Vaishnavi had a disappointing start on Tuesday as India lost 1-2 to Thailand in a match affected by rain.
Despite the setback, Vaishnavi showed improvement, minimizing unforced errors and controlling her shots effectively to defeat Das in a 90-minute match.
"It was my first match in the Billie Jean King Cup, so I was very nervous. I didn't handle the pressure well. But I learned a valuable lesson," Vaishnavi said.
"I focused on my strengths on the court and gave my best performance," she added.
Vaishnavi dominated the key moments, capitalizing on Das' inconsistency to gain control of the first set.
Despite being 15-40 early in the set, India earned the first break as Das lost control due to several errors. She then held the serve to make it 2-0.
Vaishnavi demonstrated resilience in the third game, saving two break points, and maintained her lead as both players held serve to 3-1.
India took the lead in the fifth game, converting her second break point to extend the advantage. Although Das broke back, Vaishnavi responded immediately with another break and comfortably won the set 6-2, finishing with an ace.
In the second set, Vaishnavi remained composed despite Das' improved performance. After leveling the score at 1-1, she broke in the third game and maintained a 3-1 lead, dictating the play with aggressive baseline shots and controlled serving.
Das mounted a late challenge, breaking back to level at 4-4 after Vaishnavi gave away a 40-0 lead. However, she quickly regained control, breaking again in the ninth game as Das made consecutive errors.
Serving for the match, Vaishnavi held her nerve in a tense finish, sealing the win after forcing another mistake from Das.
In the second singles, Sahaja Yamalapalli will face Valentina Ivanov, while Rutuja Bhosale and Ankita Raina will take on Monique Barry and Erin Routliffe.
Earlier in the day, Rutuja Bhosale and Ankita Raina salvaged some pride with a consolation win in the doubles after Sahaja Yamalapalli's narrow defeat in the second singles as India lost 1-2 to Thailand in the rain-affected opener.
World No. 384 Sahaja had resumed the match after it was halted due to rain on Tuesday evening.
However, the 25-year-old could not keep India in the game, losing 4-6, 6-1, 4-6 to Patcharin, ranked 449, in a match that lasted two hours and 25 minutes.
The doubles pair of Bhosale and Raina then beat Thasaporn Naklo and Peangtarn Plipuech 6-3 6-4 in one hour and 11 minutes.
Earlier, resuming at 3-4 in the decider, Sahaja sent a forehand wide as Patcharin held serve to move 5-3 ahead.
The Indian then held her serve after a Patcharin backhand slice found the net, narrowing the gap to 4-5.
With the match on knife's edge, Sahaja produced some exceptional groundstrokes, dominating baseline exchanges. She even earned a break point when the Thai hit long.
However, she faltered at the crucial juncture, sending a forehand and a backhand long to hand the advantage back. A miscued return on the next point ended her resistance.
On Tuesday, debutant Vaishnavi Adkar had cracked under pressure, committing a flurry of unforced errors in a 1-6, 3-6 loss to Aunchisa Chanta.
In the inconsequential doubles, Bhosale and Raina produced a superlative show, breaking early to race to a 5-0 lead against Thasaporn Naklo and Peangtarn Plipuech.
The Thai pair fought back, holding serve twice and breaking once to reduce the deficit to 3-5.
Serving for the set, the Indians raced to 40-0 and closed it out comfortably with Raina finishing with an overhead smash.
In the second set, both pairs held serve to be level at 3-3 before Bhosale and Raina secured the decisive break in the seventh game and went on to seal the set 6-4.