Niki Prasad took wickets with her first two balls for India, and Shafali’s 55 off 25 sealed the Zimbabwe series
India held Zimbabwe to 102 for 8 in Raipur and chased it in 8.5 overs, giving Smriti Mandhana an unbeatable 2-0 lead with one T20I to play.
Oct 19, 2026
Niki Prasad did not bowl on her India debut on Friday. On Sunday, Smriti Mandhana threw her the ball for the 15th over in Raipur, and Prasad took a wicket with each of her first two balls in international cricket. Zimbabwe finished on 102 for 8, and India needed only 8.5 overs to knock it off, winning by nine wickets with 67 balls to spare.
The result gives India an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match T20I series at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium. It is also Mandhana’s first series win since taking over as full-time captain.
Zimbabwe stuck on a slow pitch
Josephine Nkomo won the toss and batted, and Zimbabwe found runs even harder to come by than in Friday’s 114 for 5. Kranti Gaud and Nandani Sharma kept the openers quiet with the new ball. Nandani bowled Kelis Ndhlovu, who had made 42 in the first match, for an 11-ball duck, and Zimbabwe were 20 for 1 at the end of the powerplay. Beloved Biza went soon after, caught by Harmanpreet Kaur off Deepti Sharma, and Sharne Mayers fell to Gaud with the score on 30.
Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano did the most to drag the total along. She used the reverse sweep against the spinners and made 34 off 32 balls, helped by India putting her down twice in two overs. Prasad finally removed her, caught behind by Richa Ghosh off the first ball of the 15th over, and trapped Nyasha Gwanzura lbw with the next. Zimbabwe reviewed the second one and lost it.
Nkomo batted through the death overs for an unbeaten 27 off 35 balls, which at least got Zimbabwe into three figures. Prasad finished with 2 for 7 from two overs. Gaud, Nandani, Deepti and Charani took a wicket each, and there were two run-outs.
Shafali and Mandhana make it quick
The chase was over almost before it started. India were 76 for 0 at the end of the powerplay, with Gwanzura, who had taken 3 for 18 on Friday, going for 42 in her three overs this time.
Shafali Verma reached her fifty off 24 balls and was caught at long-on off Biza in the eighth over for 55 off 25, with six fours and four sixes. By then the opening stand was worth 96. Mandhana, out for 9 in the first game, finished unbeaten on 47 off 25 and ended it with a six. Between them, the openers scored 78 of their 96 runs in boundaries.
Shafali was named player of the match. The last of the three T20Is is in Raipur on Tuesday, 20 October, and India will be going for a clean sweep before the ODI series starts in Vadodara on 23 October.