India were 19 for 4 chasing 115, and debutant Niki Prasad saw them home against Zimbabwe in Raipur

India’s chase of 115 against Zimbabwe in Raipur was supposed to be a gentle start to Smriti Mandhana’s time as full-time captain. Nineteen balls in, India were 19 for 4. They still won by four wickets with 26 balls left, because Deepti Sharma and debutant Niki Prasad put on 82 for the fifth wicket and refused to let the evening turn into a story about Zimbabwe.

The win gives India a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, which was hosting its first women’s international on Friday, 16 October.

Gwanzura’s two overs

The opening over gave no warning. India took 14 off Tendai Makusha, Mandhana heaving one over midwicket and Shafali Verma closing it with a drive through cover-point. Zimbabwe then turned to off-spin, and Nyasha Gwanzura changed the night.

Her first ball was a short one on middle stump. Mandhana went after it and picked out Makusha in the ring, out for 9 off six balls. Anushka Sharma, batting at No. 3, sliced a flighted ball to backward point three balls later. Harmanpreet Kaur then whipped Michelle Mavunga’s full ball straight to midwicket for 1, and when Gwanzura held a return catch from Shafali at the start of the fourth over, India were four down with 96 still needed.

Gwanzura finished with 3 for 18 from her three overs. It was the sort of spell that wins a T20I against India, and for a few overs it looked as though it might.

Prasad’s debut, Deepti’s control

Prasad had been handed her cap by Mandhana before the start. She walked in at 19 for 3 and played out four dot balls before she scored. After that she did what the situation asked for. She rotated the strike and left the big shots to her partner.

Deepti took them. She hit Mavunga over forward square leg, took two fours off Gwanzura in the last over of the powerplay, and later struck Mavunga for three boundaries in one over as she closed on a half-century. She fell one short, top-edging a sweep off leg-spinner Olinder Chare to short fine leg for 49 off 37 balls with eight fours. By then India were 101 for 5 in the 14th over and the job was almost done.

Richa Ghosh hit a six and then went two balls later for 7, but Prasad stayed to the end, hitting the winning boundary off Makusha to finish on 39 not out from 35 balls, and India got there in 15.4 overs. Deepti was named player of the match.

Prasad has form for this. On her WPL debut for Delhi Capitals in 2025 she also walked in with her side in trouble, and walked off with the player-of-the-match award. She arrived here after a strong India A series against Australia A earlier this month.

Ndhlovu and Mayers carry Zimbabwe

Mandhana won the toss and bowled, and Kranti Gaud had Beloved Biza lbw in the first over of Zimbabwe’s first ever international against India. Kelis Ndhlovu held the innings together with 42, adding 53 with wicketkeeper Modester Mupachikwa before N Shree Charani took a return catch to remove Mupachikwa for 16.

Ndhlovu was then given a reprieve when the TV umpire ruled that Prasad’s catch at long-off had touched the ground, only for Arundhati Reddy to bowl her with a dipping full toss next ball. Sharne Mayers made 43 not out from 33 balls, with two sixes, and took Zimbabwe past 100 by hitting Reddy for a six and two fours in the 18th over. Nandani Sharma then took two wickets in two balls in the final over to finish with 2 for 11 from four overs, and Zimbabwe ended on 114 for 5.

Charani’s four overs cost just 14. On a ground where 114 was well short of par, that was the margin India needed when their top order fell apart.

The second T20I is at the same ground on Sunday, 18 October, with the third on 20 October. Mandhana will want the top four to make the next chase look a lot less like this one.

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