India secured an unassailable 2-0 lead in the ODI series against Zimbabwe with a commanding 121-run victory in the second match at Vadodara. Harmanpreet Kaur struck 126 off 121 balls and Deepti Sharma remained unbeaten on 106 off 86 to lift India to 328 for 6, before Vaishnavi Sharma's 4 for 39 and Deepti's three late wickets dismissed Zimbabwe in the 49th over, 121 runs short of their target. The result also marked Smriti Mandhana's first series win as India's full-time ODI captain.
India's innings began shakily. Mandhana fell for a duck in the opening over, attempting to pull a shortish delivery that held in the surface and offered a catch to short third. Sibanda struck again in the third over when Shafali Verma pulled firmly towards midwicket, and Nyasha Gwanzura took a low catch, leaving India at 19 for 2.
Despite that early setback, Harmanpreet began positively, cutting Sibanda past point and driving Tendai Makusha between cover and mid-off. Pratika Rawal was watchful initially, particularly outside off stump, before gradually expanding her range. She used her bottom hand to shovel Makusha over long-on for six and later advanced to loft Phiri over mid-off. Those were India's only sixes of the innings. Rawal reached her ninth ODI fifty off 57 balls, and Harmanpreet followed with her own half-century. Their 124-run partnership had restored India's innings before Zimbabwe struck twice in eight deliveries.
Rawal was caught by Beloved Biza near the deep midwicket boundary off Gwanzura in the 23rd over, departing for 61 off 67 balls. In the following over, Tejal Hasabnis attempted to slog legspinner Olinder Chare and sent the ball high towards mid-on, where Michelle Mavunga ran back to complete an excellent catch. India were 149 for 4.
Deepti immediately applied pressure on the spinners upon arrival, sweeping deliveries from outside off, pulling anything short and cutting through point whenever width appeared. She raced from 16 to 55 in just 23 balls and reached her half-century off 40 deliveries. Harmanpreet, meanwhile, rotated the strike between her boundaries, using her wrists to find gaps square of the wicket and driving through the off side. The pair added 155 for the fifth wicket, a record partnership for India in women's ODIs at that position.
How did Harmanpreet and Deepti complete their centuries?
Zimbabwe's fielding, which had been impressive earlier in the innings, began to falter in the closing stages. Captain Josephine Nkomo dropped Harmanpreet at short midwicket when she was on 68, and further chances went down later. Harmanpreet reached her eighth ODI hundred off 102 balls in the 41st over, paddling Biza fine for two. The conditions took a toll on both batters, who required attention from the physio during the latter stages. Harmanpreet eventually fell in the 47th over, toe-ending a lofted shot, having struck 15 fours in her 126.
Deepti entered the final over on 97 and reached her hundred by sweeping Makusha for four, then struck the very next delivery to the boundary as well. She finished unbeaten on 106, also containing 15 fours. Her second ODI century arrived 3450 days after her maiden hundred in 2017, the second-longest gap between centuries in women's ODIs. Her innings was also the second-highest score by a batter coming in at No. 6 or lower in the format.
How did Vaishnavi Sharma dismantle Zimbabwe's chase?
Zimbabwe's response to a target of 329 initially frustrated India's bowlers. Modester Mupachikwa cut Sayali Satghare for consecutive fours off the first two deliveries and continued to punish width from the seamers. N Shree Charani dismissed Phiri for six in the ninth over, but Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano immediately attacked India's spinners, taking two boundaries off Deepti's first over and three off Charani in the 13th over. Mupachikwa and Mugeri-Tiripano added 69 for the second wicket, carrying Zimbabwe to 107 for 1 in the 22nd over.
Both batters appeared destined for half-centuries, but Satghare bowled Mugeri-Tiripano for 46 off 57 balls in the 23rd over, beating her attempted drive to knock back off stump. Mupachikwa continued to occupy the crease as the required rate climbed steadily, before Vaishnavi, playing in place of the rested Kranti Gaud, dismissed her for 49 off 70 balls in the 28th over. The left-arm spinner changed her angle, drew a sliced cut and watched substitute Harleen Deol dive forward at backward point to complete the catch. It was Vaishnavi's maiden ODI wicket.
Also Read: Harmanpreet Kaur surpasses Mithali Raj with 8th ODI century in 2nd match against Zimbabwe
That breakthrough launched an impressive spell from Vaishnavi on an evening when fellow left-arm spinner Charani, who had taken career-best figures in the opening ODI, was unusually expensive. Vaishnavi varied her pace and flight to claim three further wickets: Biza lbw for 34 in the 38th over following a successful India review, Mavunga bowled in the 40th over, and Nkomo lbw for 22 in the 42nd over. Deepti then added two wickets in successive deliveries in the 46th over, trapping Gwanzura lbw and having Sibanda caught by Hasabnis at slip, finishing with a three-wicket haul to complement her century.
The tourists were eventually bowled out for 207 in 48.5 overs. The third and final ODI is set to be played at the same venue on Wednesday, October 28.
