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Debutant Niki Prasad and Deepti Sharma pull India clear after 19 for 4 scare against Zimbabwe
Smriti Mandhana's first match as captain ended in a four-wicket win in Raipur, but only after Zimbabwe's bowlers reduced India's top order to rubble in a chase of 115.
Key points
- India beat Zimbabwe by four wickets in the first T20I, reaching 116 for 6 in 15.4 overs.
- India were 19 for 4 before Niki Prasad, on debut, and Deepti Sharma steadied the chase.
- Sharne Mayers made an unbeaten 43 off 33 balls as Zimbabwe posted 114 for 5.
India won Smriti Mandhana’s first match as captain by four wickets against Zimbabwe in Raipur on Friday night, but the margin hides an evening when the visitors had India’s top order in real trouble.
Chasing 115 at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, India slumped to 19 for 4. Mandhana was among the early wickets, dismissed by off-spinner Nyasha Gwanzura. From there, 20-year-old Niki Prasad, playing her first match for India, and the experienced Deepti Sharma took control and carried the side to 116 for 6 with 26 balls to spare.
Deepti was full of praise for her young partner afterwards. “It didn’t feel like she was making her debut,” she said of Prasad.
Mayers holds Zimbabwe together
Mandhana won the toss and chose to bowl. Zimbabwe, in their first bilateral series against India, built a platform through a 53-run stand for the second wicket between Kelis Ndhlovu and Modester Mupachikwa. Sharne Mayers then kept the innings moving with an unbeaten 43 off 33 balls, and Zimbabwe finished on 114 for 5 from their 20 overs.
Arundhati Reddy took one wicket but went for 30 in her three overs. Zimbabwe lost only five wickets, but India’s bowlers never let them break away.
What comes next
The three-match series continues in Raipur with the second T20I on Sunday, 18 October, and the third on Tuesday, 20 October, both starting at 7 pm. India’s batters will want a steadier start against a Zimbabwe attack that showed on Friday it can bite.