Pratika century and Charani four-for give India nine-wicket win

India Women opened their three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe with a commanding nine-wicket victory in Vadodara on Friday. Zimbabwe were dismissed for 197 in 49.5 overs after being put in to bat. Left-arm spinner Shree Charani claimed four wickets for 23 runs in her 10 overs, including three maidens. Kranti Gaud took three for 42 and Deepti Sharma picked up two as Zimbabwe struggled to build a substantial total. Chasing 198, India reached 200 for one in 27.1 overs, winning with 137 balls to spare. Pratika Rawal marked her return to the top of the order with an unbeaten 100 off 96 deliveries, including 15 fours. Shafali Verma, pushed down to number three, smashed an unbeaten 64 off 33 balls with four sixes. Rawal and Verma added an unbroken 106 runs for the second wicket after Smriti Mandhana made 32. Rawal said, "It was a happy day today. Good to be back in the room, always good to score runs and contribute to a team's victory by batting as long as I can." India will look to build on the result in the next match of the series.

Context

Zimbabwe lost Loryn Phiri for one run before Charani removed Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano for 21 and Modester Mupachikwa for 25 to disrupt the visitors’ progress. Beloved Biza offered resistance with a patient 62 off 92 balls, striking five boundaries, but struggled to accelerate consistently. Charani returned to dismiss Nyasha Gwanzura for 13 and Michelle Mavunga for 29, completing an impressive spell. Mavunga had briefly lifted the scoring rate with a brisk knock featuring three fours and a six, but Kranti and Deepti ensured Zimbabwe could not build a substantial total. India’s reply began positively, with Rawal and Mandhana putting on 94 for the opening wicket. Rawal set the pace early, reaching 43 off 37 balls as India raced to 72 without loss in the first 10 overs. She survived a dropped chance on 46 before continuing to find the gaps, particularly through the off side. Mandhana made 32 off 34 deliveries before falling to Olinder Chare in the 16th over. Shafali then joined Rawal and immediately changed the tempo, bringing up her half-century off just 29 balls. Her assault included four sixes, and she took 20 runs off Chare’s seventh over to leave India needing only 12 runs for victory, with Rawal 10 short of her century. Rawal completed her hundred with consecutive fours off Tendai Makusha in the 27th over before Shafali struck the winning boundary off Nyasha Gwanzura. The victory gave Smriti Mandhana a winning start to her tenure as full-time ODI captain and put India ahead 1-0 in the series. Mandhana praised her bowling unit, singling out Charani while acknowledging the pacers’ contributions. "Coming into a different ground, the bowlers adapted well. Shree Charani was the standout, but the pacers too — Kranti, to mention one among all bowlers," the India captain said. However, Mandhana identified room for improvement in fielding and in the middle overs. "We are playing 50 overs after a very long time, so the period between overs 20-35 we could've had more intensity on the field. We'll work on that," she added.

Sources

• Hindustan Times

• Times of India

• Photo: PDPics, Pixabay Content License (Pixabay)