India was made to fight for their first victory, but a great effort in the end from Niki Prasad and Player of the Match Deepti Sharma ensured they sealed the deal by four wickets during the first T20I at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur. India goes 1-0, in the three match T20I series.  

Cautious start from Zimbabwe, Kelis Ndhlovu scores 42

Zimbabwe adopted a cautious approach at the start, choosing to build their innings in a steady fashion. Opener Kelis Ndhlovu anchored the innings, scoring 42(44), which included six fours. Her knock provided the visitors stability at the top, setting the platform for others to build on. At the 10 overs mark, they found themselves at 60/1. In the process, Kelis and Mupachikwa stitched a 53 runs partnership. Unfortunately, the big hits did not come by easily as the Women in Blue kept the run rate in check.

Sharne Mayers adds the finishing touches; Nandani Sharma’s crucial two wicket haul

A valuable late flourish from Sharne Mayers, making 43 not out in 33 balls, aced with four fours and two sixes helped Zimbabwe cross the 100 runs mark. Her knock came at a crucial juncture in the game. Also, 15 very important runs were scored during the 18th over, off Arundhati Reddy’s bowling.

On the other hand, Nandani Sharma snapped up 2/11 in her four overs spell. She was ably supported by wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh who nailed two stumpings during the last over of Zimbabwe’s innings as they ended with 114/5 in 20 overs.

India on the backfoot, Zimbabwe applied pressure early on…

Zimbabwe was spot on with their bowling, sticking to their line and lengths while being extremely accurate right from the very beginning. Right arm medium pacer Nyasha Gwanzura made sure India could not get off to a flying start as she troubled the batters, picking three key wickets. The top order collapsed and at one stage were reduced to 19/4 in 3.1 overs.

Niki-Deepti steadies the Indian ship, help the hosts register a win

Debutant Niki Prasad and Deepti Sharma did not press the panic button… took their time in the middle, settled down and then played their shots. En route they stitched an 82 runs partnership to get the Indian innings back on track. Deepti took on the charge while Niki offered valuable support at the other end. The duo combined patience with purposeful stroke play which proved to be the turning point. Deepti smashed 49(37) before being caught by Mayers while Niki remained unbeaten till the end scoring a good 39, displaying maturity and good temperament. India won the contest by four wickets.  

Brief Scores

Zimbabwe: 114/5 in 20 overs (Sharne Mayers 43, Kelis Ndhlovu 42; Nandini Sharma 2/11) lost to India: 116/6 in 15.4 overs (Deepti Sharma 49, Niki Prasad 39*; Nyasha Gwanzura 3/18) by four wickets.