Bowlers, Openers shine as India outclass Zimbabwe to clinch T20I series

As India defeated Zimbabwe in the second T20I, Shafali Verma scored a 24-ball half-century, including six fours and four sixes. In 2026, she and her captain Smriti Mandhana added a ninth partnership of 50 or more runs, setting a joint record for women's T20Is in a calendar year. With only one game remaining in the T20I series, Mandhana began her tenure as full-time captain by winning the series.

After restricting Zimbabwe to just 102/8, Shafali and Mandhana raced away to India's second best Powerplay score in T20Is with 76/0. The early assault from the India openers was relentless: Shafali started the innings with a four and hit a six in the same over from Nyasha Gwanzura, who was then punished by Mandhana in her next over. In the fifth over, Shafali whipped Nyasha Gwanzura around the park for five boundaries before unleashing her full force.

In the sixth over, she defeated Michelle Mavunga, going 4-4-6. The blitz didn't stop just because the fields spread. Mandhana tonked a big six off Olinder Chare in the seventh over. Shafali reached her fifty in the eighth with a six, but she lost the next ball. This was Shafali's ninth fifty-plus score in 2026, the most by a player in a calendar year.

Her departure had no effect on the game because six balls later, Mandhana scored a six to win. The win came with 67 balls to spare, the most in a 100-plus chase in women's T20Is.

Before the whirlwind batting show, India put the brakes with the ball. In a sluggish start, Zimbabwe opener Kelis Ndhlovu was cleaned up by Nandani Sharma in the fourth over. Zimbabwe crawled to the end of the Powerplay with 20/1 on the board, but stuttered in the middle. In the ninth over, it quickly turned into 20/2 and then 30/3 before captain Josephine Nkomo and Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano put up a 45-run stand.

Niki Prasad then struck twice in the first two balls of her career, only the third to do in the format across men's and women's cricket. From 75/5 in 14.2 overs, the Zimbabwean innings meandered away, just about getting past three figures in the final over. It turned out that their bowlers couldn't even come close to making a match out of it.