The Indian women’s team succeeded in getting a first victory against Zimbabwe women for the first time under Smriti Mandhana’s captaincyScroll down to read the full story
Published: October 16, 2026, 10:57 PM IST
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India women’s defeat Zimbabwe women’s by 4 wickets in 1st T20I (Image – X)
IND W vs ZIM W, 1st T20I: The Indian women’s team played their first match against Zimbabwe womenStar player Smriti Mandhana handled the team’s responsibility for the first time and succeeded in defeating their rivals in the maiden clash of her captaincyThe match was played at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur.
India W vs Zimbabwe W squads:
Zimbabwe Women (Playing XI): Kelis Ndhlovu, Beloved Biza, Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano, Sharne Mayers, Michelle Mavunga, Nyasha Gwanzura, Francisca Chipare, Modester Mupachikwa(w), Josephine Nkomo(c), Olinder Chare, Tendai Makusha
India Women (Playing XI): Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana(c), Anushka Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur, Niki Prasad, Richa Ghosh(w), Deepti Sharma, Shree Charani, Arundhati Reddy, Nandani Sharma, Kranti Gaud
The Women in Blue got a chance to bowl firstKrant Gaud opened the wicket count for Team India as she dismissed Beloved Biza for a duck off 4 ballsMeanwhile, her opening partner Kelis Ndhlovu played a classic knock for her side, which included 42 runs off 44 balls, including 6 fours.
Modester Mupachikwa and Sharna Mayers built a great partnership for their side, which played a crucial role for Zimbabwe against the Indian team.
Sharne Mayers remained not out in this match as she managed to score 43 runs off 33 ballsIn her knock, she smashed 4 fours and 2 sixes at a strike rate of 130.30Their last moment knocks helped Zimbabwe to score 114 runs for the loss of five wickets in 20 overs.
Well, it’s time to talk about Team India’s batting performancesZimbabwe’s bowling lineup created a major setback for Indian batters as newest skipper Smriti Mandhana was dismissed for only 9 runs off 6 ballsShe managed to hit 2 foursBut, Nyasha Gwanzura ended her innings with an impressive delivery, caught by Tendai Makusha.
Other star batters, like, Shafali Verma, Anushka Sharma and Harmanpreet Kaur, failed to deliver their magic in this match and were dismissed for early scores for India.
After their dismissals, Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad played a match-winning innings for the Indian side by showcasing their impressive batting performance at the crucial point of the game.
Deepti Sharma scored 49 runs off 37 balls, including 8 fours at a strike rate of 132.43In the bowling performance, she won’t be able to get the wicketsBut in batting, she settled things for India.
Meanwhile, Niki Prasad also played an important innings as she scored 39 runs off 35 balls, including 6 fours at a strike rate of 111.43 and helped India to defeat Zimbabwe by 4 wickets.
