Lulu Sun in action for New Zealand at the Billie Jean King Cup women's teams tournament in Pune. Photo: Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association
Lulu Sun led a fightback as New Zealand beat India 2-1 in their opening tie at the Billie Jean King Cup women's tennis tournament in Pune.
New Zealand trailed the host nation 1-0 early in their Asia/Oceania Group I opener after Aishi Das - making her tournament debut - lost 6-1 6-1 to Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty.
World no 45 Sun responded by beating Sahaja Yamalapalli 6-3 6-3, dominating with her serve as she sent down five aces and didn't concede a single break point.
With the tie all-square, Sun and Monique Barry combined in the decisive doubles match to beat Ankita Raina and Prarthana G Thombare 6-4 6-3.
The top two nations in the round-robin tournament advance to the World Group playoffs in November.
India were regarded as one of the stronger combinations, putting New Zealand in a good position heading into Wednesday night's clash with another favoured nation, South Korea.
