India Women secured their T20I series against Zimbabwe in style, delivering a dominant performance to wrap up the victory with a nine-wicket win in the second match. The win marks a successful start for Smriti Mandhana in her tenure as full-time captain, as the hosts moved into an unassailable series lead with one fixture remaining. She then went 4 4 6 against Michelle Mavunga in the sixth over.
The foundation for the win was laid by a disciplined bowling attack that restricted Zimbabwe to 102/8 in their 20 overs. After an early breakthrough saw Nandani Sharma bowl Kelis Ndhlovu in the fourth over, Zimbabwe struggled to build momentum. Though Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano and captain Josephine Nkomo combined for a resilient 45-run partnership, the momentum shifted when Niki Prasad entered the attack. Prasad achieved a rare feat, claiming two wickets in her first two balls—becoming only the third player in men’s or women’s international cricket to achieve the milestone on debut. Despite their efforts, Zimbabwe could only scrape past the century mark in the final over. But stuttered in the middle, zimbabwe crawled to the end of the Powerplay with 20/1 on the board. Before Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano and captain Josephine Nkomo displayed a gumption of a fight with a 45-run stand, it soon became 20/2 and then 30/3 in the ninth over. The Zimbabwean innings meandered away, just about getting past three figures in the final over, from 75/5 in 14.2 overs.
India’s response was nothing short of ruthless. Openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana decimated the target, putting together 76/0 in the Powerplay, which stands as India’s second-best opening score in the format. Verma led the charge, hitting six fours and four sixes to reach her half-century in just 24 balls. This effort marked her ninth 50-plus score in 2026, the highest such tally for any player in a single calendar year. Who was then punished by Mandhana in her next over, the early assault from the India openers was relentless: Shafali started the innings with a four and hit a six in the same over from Nyasha Gwanzura. Carting her around the park for five boundaries, shafali brought out the full force in the fifth over off Nyasha Gwanzura. The blitz didn’t stop just because the fields spread. Mandhana tonked a big six off Olinder Chare in the seventh over.
Verma and Mandhana also celebrated a milestone of their own, recording their ninth 50-plus partnership of the year—a joint-record for any duo in a women’s T20I calendar year. Although Verma fell shortly after reaching her fifty, Mandhana sealed the match with a massive six just six balls later. India chased down the target in only 8.5 overs, finishing with 104/1 and securing the win with 67 balls remaining. This result represents the largest margin of victory by balls remaining in any 100-plus run chase in women’s T20I history.
