Smriti Mandhana Stars as India Women Seal T20I Series Against Zimbabwe
India Women sealed the series against Zimbabwe Women by winning the second game by 42 runs. Smriti Mandhana’s half-century powered India Women to post a strong total. Following this, the bowlers were able to do well to restrict Zimbabwe Women from chasing the same.
Pitch and Weather
The match will be played at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, which offers good pace and carry for the batsmen to play their shots well. The outfield is fast, while seamers will be able to do well early in the innings. Spinners will be able to play a role in the middle overs, when the ball gets older. Warm conditions with some humidity and partly cloudy skies are expected, although the weather could influence how much the ball swings early on.
Toss
Zimbabwe Women win the toss and decide to bowl first. The team aims to use the early bowling conditions and restrict India Women from posting a strong total.
Lineups
India Women: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana (C), Anushka Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur, Niki Prasad, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, Shree Charani, Arundhati Reddy, Nandani Sharma, Kranti Gaud
Zimbabwe Women: Kelis Ndhlovu, Beloved Biza, Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano, Sharne Mayers, Michelle Mavunga, Nyasha Gwanzura, Francisa Chipare, Modester Mupachikwa, Josephine Nkomo (C)
Match Report
India Women made a good start after being sent to bat first, as Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana attacked the Zimbabwean bowlers in the powerplay. The duo had an opening stand of 57 runs before Beloved Biza removed Shafali for 34. Smriti Mandhana went on to smash boundaries, as India Women reached 61/1 after six overs.
Mandhana and Anushka Sharma went on to rebuild the innings, as they rotated strike against the slower bowlers. Josephine Nkomo brought down some bowling changes, which helped to remove Anushka for 21. Mandhana went on to score a composed half-century, as Zimbabwe regained control after taking her wicket at 56.
Harmanpreet Kaur went on to regain control, as Richa Ghosh gave the late acceleration. With their partnership, India Women was able to breach the 150 runs mark, as the team finished at the total of 166/5 in 20 overs.
Zimbabwe started its chase carefully against Kranti Gaud and Arundhati Reddy. Kelis Ndhlovu smashed some boundaries, but Kranti Gaud removed Beloved Biza early in the game. Ndhlovu went on to score well but Deepti Sharma removed her for 31. Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano and Sharne Mayers went on to rebuild, but the Indian spinners restricted them in the middle overs.
Deepti Sharma removed Mugeri-Tiripano, and Shree Charani removed Mayers, which increased the required run rate. The team needed 58 runs in the final five overs, where they struggled to find boundaries against India's disciplined bowling attack. Nandani Sharma took two wickets in the end, as Zimbabwe Women finished at 124/8.
Player of the Match
Smriti Mandhana won the Player of the Match award for scoring 56 runs off 39 balls, which eventually laid the foundation for the Indian team to score well.
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