Smriti Mandhana began her tenure as India's full-time T20I captain with a series win after India beat Zimbabwe by nine wickets in the second T20I, sealing the series with one match still to play. India chased down a target of 103 in just 8.5 overs, finishing on 104/1, in what proved to be a thoroughly one-sided contest.
Shafali Verma led the batting charge with a 24-ball half-century that included six fours and four sixes, finishing on 55. Mandhana remained unbeaten on 47 and sealed the win with a six. The opening pair put on India's second-best Powerplay score in women's T20Is, racing to 76/0 inside six overs. The win came with 67 balls to spare, the most in a 100-plus chase in women's T20Is.
How did India's bowlers set up the win?
India's bowlers kept Zimbabwe firmly in check throughout their innings. Zimbabwe opener Kelis Ndhlovu was cleaned up by Nandani Sharma in the fourth over, and the hosts crawled to 20/1 at the end of the Powerplay. The middle overs brought further trouble as Zimbabwe slipped to 20/2 and then 30/3 in the ninth over.
Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano and Zimbabwe captain Josephine Nkomo steadied the innings briefly with a 45-run stand, but Niki Prasad then struck twice in the first two balls of her spell, becoming only the third player across men's and women's T20I cricket to achieve that feat. Prasad finished with figures of 2/7. Zimbabwe's innings meandered from 75/5 in 14.2 overs and only just crossed three figures in the final over, finishing at 102/8. Mugeri-Tiripano top-scored with 34.
What records did Shafali and Mandhana set in the chase?
The India openers wasted no time in making the target look trivial. Shafali began the innings with a boundary and hit a six in the same over from Nyasha Gwanzura. Mandhana then punished Gwanzura in her next over, and Shafali continued her assault in the fifth over, hitting five boundaries off the same bowler. In the sixth over, Shafali went four, four, six against Michelle Mavunga before the southpaw struck a big six off Olinder Chare in the seventh.
Shafali reached her fifty with a six in the eighth over but fell the very next ball. Her score of 55 was her ninth fifty-plus score in 2026, the most by any player in a calendar year in women's T20Is. The partnership was also the ninth 50-plus opening stand between the attacking Indian openers in 2026, a joint-record for a calendar year in women's T20I cricket. Mandhana then finished the chase with six balls after Shafali's dismissal, completing a commanding series victory for India.
