Sunitha Rao and Shikha Uberoi scored impressive wins as India blanked Kazakhstan 3-0 in their opening rubber of the Fed Cup zonal qualifiers in Christchurch, New Zealand on Monday.

While Shikha thrashed Tatyana Ignatchenko 6-0, 6-0 Sunitha beat Mariya Kovaleva 6-4, 6-2.

Later in the doubles encounter, Ankita Bhambri teamed up with Tara Iyer to outplay Mariya and Yekaterina Morozova 6-1, 6-4 to round off a brilliant day for the Indian team.

Drawn in Pool 'B', India will next take on Jordan on Tuesday.

Both Sunitha and Ankita were doubtful starters for Monday's encounter. While Sunitha had pulled a stomach muscle, Ankita was battling fever.

However, the duo recovered in time for the matches to record easy wins in their respective matches.

"Sunitha had a slight stomach problem but she is fine now and so is Ankita. I am delighted with Monday's performance and I am confident about Tuesday's rubber against Jordan," team captain Enrico Piperno said.

Shikha, one of the three US-based players in the team, did not put a foot wrong as she blanked Tatyana to make it 1-0 for India.

Sunitha, the Indian-born American who got the chance to play for India in the absence of an injured Sania Mirza, consolidated the lead.

Sunitha was bit rusty in the opening set and was broken twice but the 21-year-old ultimately proved to be too good for Mariya, who was simply blown away in the next set as India took their lead to 2-0.

After the singles domination, Ankita and Tara made it an all-win day for the Indians with their triumph over Mariya and Yekaterina in the doubles competition.

The duo, which had come to the tournament without any match practice, gave no chance to their opponents and wrapped up proceedings without much trouble to seal India's win in their first rubber of the Asia-Oceania group tie of the women's team competition.

However, a tough battle awaits India ahead in the competition, the winner of which will be promoted to World Group 2 play-off in July.

After the clash against Jordan, the Indians will be up against Chinese Taipei and hosts New Zealand. Chinese Taipei could prove their toughest test as India aim for the top spot in their pool.

Team captain Piperno was optimistic about the team's chances.

"We are taking one match at a time. I think we should win against Jordan and then we shall start preparing for the tougher matches at the weekend," he said.

If India manage to top their pool, then they will take on the winner of pool A, which comprises Thailand, Korea, Uzbekistan, Hong Kong, China and Singapore, in the finals to be played on April 21.