Indian women edged out Zimbabwe women by four wickets in their first T20I match on Friday, October 16, 2026, at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur. While chasing a low total of 115, Indians lost four wickets in their powerplay overs before a fifth wicket partnership between Deepti Sharma and debutant Niki Prasad ensured their victory with 26 balls remaining.
The match held additional weight in more ways than one. It marked the first ever women's international played at Raipur's stadium, as well as Smriti Mandhana's first match as India's new T20I captain, with Shafali Verma as her vice-captain.
The Chhattisgarh State Cricket Sangh had made free entry possible for the three T20Is as per suggestion from the Chief Minister, Vishnu Deo Sai, even as the stands appeared sparsely populated in the early part of the evening.
A minute's silence was observed before the start of the match in memory of Zimbabwean umpire Sarah Dambanevana, who passed away a couple of days back at the age of 36 years.
Mandhana won the toss and put Zimbabwe in to bat, citing dew. India selected three fast bowlers along with two spinners, with Shafali being the sixth bowling option. This was the international debut of Niki Prasad, while Anushka Sharma was also included in the playing eleven.
Zimbabwe was playing a decent game of cricket to begin with, with opener Kelis Ndhlovu scoring some boundaries against Kranti Gaud and Shafali, taking their score to around 60 for 2 before the halfway mark of the innings. There was a change in the momentum of the innings post the drinks break, when Sree Charani took a return catch to dismiss Modester Mupachikwa for 16.
There were some entertaining scenes in the 15th over, with Niki Prasad coming in from long-off and diving to take a catch to dismiss Ndhlovu. She was walking out of the field when the third umpire ruled that she had grounded her feet, leading to a recall for her, followed by dismissal for 42 off 44 deliveries, hitting six fours. Sharne Mayers continued to keep the scoreboard ticking for Zimbabwe with an unbeaten knock of 43, which included 15 runs off 19th over bowled by Reddy.
Zimbabwe ended up scoring 114 for 5, well below the par score for the day. Nandani Sharma scalped 2 for 11, while Charani dismissed one for 14.
India started their run chase on a good note by scoring 14 runs from the first over bowled by Tendai Makusha, but the target seemed easily achievable for them until the debutant off-spinner Nyasha Gwanzura took three quick wickets within the first two overs:
- Smriti Mandhana: Bowled for 9 runs off six balls in an attempt to execute a lap shot.
- Anushka Sharma: Caught at a point in attempting a drive from a wide ball.
- Shafali Verma: Dismissed by Gwanzura as per ESPN Cricinfo.
- Maven Michelle Mavunga got the wicket of Harmanpreet Kaur for 1 run, leaving India at 19/4 in 19 balls according to Cricinfo.
Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad put up a partnership that rebuilt the innings. Niki Prasad played hard on boundaries through off-side strokes against the deliveries of Francisca Chipare and Beloved Biza, while Deepti hit a slog sweep shot for four against Mavunga, helping them to cross the 90-run mark in the 12th over.
Deepti missed out on a half-century by one run as she was dismissed for 49 from 37 deliveries, including eight boundaries, caught by Mayers off Olinder Chare.
Then Richa Ghosh fell for just 7, as India had lost 6 wickets for only four runs required with 111 runs in 15 overs. Then Niki Prasad hit the ball from Makusha to the boundary on off side, and India completed their chase at 116/6 from 15.4 overs without losing further wickets.
Deepti Sharma was chosen as Player of the Match for her score of 49. Prasad's debut innings could not have asked for any better as far as she starts her international career is concerned.
For Zimbabwe, Gwanzura was the key player with figures of 3 for 18, while Mayers and Ndhlovu scored most of the runs. The Josephine Nkomo's side had a very good position throughout their first innings and in the early overs of their chase.
The result provides a winning start to Mandhana as captain of the team, but it shows that India's top-order batsmen have a fragile batting lineup. Zimbabwe's spinners found conditions favorable and got turns and grip on Raipur
The second T20I takes place on Sunday, October 18, while the third T20I will take place on October 20 at 7 p.m. IST in Raipur.
Then, the tour moves to the BCA Stadium, where there will be three ODI matches on October 23, 25, and 28 at 2 p.m. IST. In India, the matches can be watched on the Star Sports Network and also on JioHotstar.
