Zimbabwe Women vs India Women 1st T20I Full Commentary

Welcome back for the run chase. The umpires and the players are out in the middle. Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma open up for India Women. Tendai Makusha has the new ball in hand and will start the proceedings. Let's play...

... THE RUN CHASE ...

A disciplined display with the ball - India Women will be pleased with their effort with the ball, as Kranti Gaud set the tone with a wicket in the first over. They were a little inconsistent thereafter, allowing a partnership to develop, but Sree Charani broke through in the 11th over to turn the tide. She was excellent, returning 1/14 with 16 dot balls. Zimbabwe also endured separate seven-ball and eight-ball scoring droughts in the middle overs, struggling to break free. Arundhati Reddy had an off day, while Deepti Sharma remained economical despite going wicketless. Nandni Sharma chipped in with a couple of wickets in the final over to cap a fine all-round display in the field. Join us in a bit for the second essay.

A quick chat - Sharne Mayers says that she is pleased to have contributed to the total but would have liked to score more. She feels the surface was good for batting and reveals that the team was targeting at least 130. Mayers adds that playing in India for the first time is a learning experience for the side. On her approach against spin, Mayers says the focus was on rotating the strike and keeping things simple, while taking advantage of deliveries in her hitting zone. She notes that there was no specific area she had worked on ahead of the game, but she had been striking the ball well in the nets and is glad to have trusted her processes and seen them pay off.

Kelis shines before Mayers provides a late boost - Despite losing an early wicket, Zimbabwe Women held their nerve, with Kelis Ndhlovu taking the attack to India with an impressive range of strokes to build a 53-run stand with Modester Mupachikwa. However, the latter fell soon after the drinks break, and the visitors struggled to find momentum thereafter. Kelis herself endured 13 consecutive dot balls before departing for 43, but Sharne Mayers provided a late spark with a brisk 43 off 33 balls to give Zimbabwe's bowlers something to work with.

Zimbabwe leave runs on the table - A batting performance that left plenty to be desired from Zimbabwe Women, who were 60/1 at the halfway mark but managed just 54 runs in the next 10 overs. The bigger concern, though, is the number of dot balls, having played out more than 10 overs without scoring. That is an area they will need to improve to challenge stronger sides. India Women will gladly take this total on a surface that has been excellent for batting and will be eager to wrap things up quickly.

Who will face the hat-trick ball? It will be Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano.

The next batter in is Michelle Mavunga.

Nandani Sharma will bowl the final over. Can she keep Zimbabwe Women under 120?

Deepti Sharma to bowl the penultimate over.

India Women lead 1-0 - That wraps up our coverage for tonight. Despite the loss, Zimbabwe will get an immense amount of confidence from this outing. The action shifts to the second T20I on Sunday, 18th October, starting at 1.30 pm GMT (7 pm IST). Join us slightly earlier for the toss and build-up. Until then, goodbye and cheers!

Player of the Match - Deepti Sharma is the Player of the Match for her 49-run knock. She says that she is pleased and she is used to batting in these kinds of situations. She reckons that Niki Prasad was really good and they got their team over the line. She further says that her mindset was clear and she was ready mentally, and she adapted to the situation.

The captain of India Women - Smriti Mandhana says that she is happy with the win. She praises Nandani Sharma for her bowling, debutant Niki Prasad, and describes Deepti Sharma as a legend who has been performing at a high level for a long time. She notes that she has already addressed the team's performance in the dressing room and highlights the excellent fielding effort, particularly pointing out Niki and Anushka's energy. Additionally, she acknowledges that Zimbabwe batted well with good cricketing shots and admits that playing against unfamiliar opponents can be tricky because live match conditions differ from video footage.

The captain of Zimbabwe Women - Josephine Nkomo says that they played really well. Despite falling a few runs short, she expressed pride in their bowling after reducing India to four down inside the powerplay. She notes that their bowling plan focuses on keeping things simple with a good line and length, while also praising the team's fielding performance. Looking ahead, she highlights the need to reduce their high dot-ball percentage and convert those dots into singles and doubles in the next match.

Presentations coming up...

A quick chat with the debutant - Niki Prasad says she feels well-prepared and happy to see the team through on her debut. She mentions that the plan with Deepti Sharma is simply to stay calm, play the ball on its merit, and build a partnership before picking which bowlers to attack. She notes that although heavy dew makes the ball travel fast, the pitch slows down and keeps low, adding that both she and Deepti adapt well to the conditions. She also praises Deepti for batting brilliantly and attacking the bowlers, which gives her the confidence to play her own shots, and states that this is just the start as she wants to win many more games for India.

Deepti and Niki seal the chase - With the hosts in deep trouble, experienced all-rounder Deepti Sharma and debutant Niki Prasad joined hands to rebuild the innings and take the game away from the visitors. Deepti counter-attacked with a crucial 49 off 37 balls before sweeping Olinder Chare straight to short fine leg just one run short of her fifty, and Richa Ghosh holed out to Beloved Biza soon after while going for a big hit. However, Prasad stayed calm on debut, crafting a composed 39 off 35 balls to take India home at 116/6. It was an impressive debut from Niki Prasad!

Gwanzura stuns India's top order - Chasing 115, India walked into an unexpected storm as Zimbabwe's bowlers dominated the powerplay. Nyasha Gwanzura struck twice in her opening over to dismiss Smriti Mandhana and Anushka Sharma, and Michelle Mavunga followed up with a brilliant wicket-maiden to remove Harmanpreet Kaur. Gwanzura then grabbed a sharp return catch off her own bowling to send back Shafali Verma on her way to figures of 3/18, leaving the Indian dugout stunned at 19/4 inside four overs.

Ndhlovu and Mayers guide Zimbabwe to 114/5 - Asked to bat first, Zimbabwe showed great fight to play out their 20 overs and post 114/5 after losing Beloved Biza in the very first over to Kranti Gaud. Opener Kelis Ndhlovu led the recovery with a brisk 42 off 44 balls and shared a 53-run partnership with Modester Mupachikwa, though 13 straight dot balls eventually brought her downfall against Arundhati Reddy. Sharne Mayers then carried the innings with a fine 43 off 33 balls, but India's bowlers kept the total modest thanks to superb spells from Nandani Sharma (2/11) and Shree Charani (1/14) alongside a tidy four-over stint from Deepti Sharma (0/22).

Mandhana era begins with a win! The Smriti Mandhana captaincy era kicks off on a winning note in Raipur as the Women in Blue defeat Zimbabwe by four wickets with 26 balls to spare, taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series. Despite an early scare, India wrapped up a comfortable victory in 15.4 overs once their middle order settled in. The Lady Chevrons fought hard, but they could have done better by avoiding the middle-overs batting slowdown to add 15-20 extra runs and keeping their bowling lines tight after the powerplay instead of leaking easy boundaries.

Arundhati Reddy walks in to bat now.

Richa Ghosh walks in to bat now.