Niki Prasad shines on debut as India overcome Zimbabwe
Overcoming a fesity Zimbabwean bowling effort, India managed to take a 1-0 lead in the T20I series between the two sides.
Niki Prasad, who had led India to their second ICC Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup title in 2025, made a stellar contribution in India's win over Zimbabwe.
After the tourists had been contained for 114/5, India were tottering at 19/4 with Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma and Harmanpreet Kaur all back in the pavilion. Niki Prasaid joined hands with the experienced Deepti Sharma and the duo combined to get India past the line in the 16th over mark.
Earlier in the game, Smriti Mandhana won the toss in her first match as full-time skipper and elected to field first.
Beloved Biza fell in the very first over, trapped leg-before by Kranti Gaud, but Kelis Ndhlovu (42) partnered with Modester Mupachikwa (16) to steady Zimbabwe. Sharne Mayers (43) provided the fireworks in the second half of the innings to get the team past 100 even as Nandani Sharma (2/11) and Sree Charani (1/14) kept the scoring in check.
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Chasing a modest target of 115, India's experienced batting lineup would've been expected to finish the game quickly. But Nyasha Gwanzura's (3/18) inspirational spell left India four down in no time. Skipper Mandhana (9) was the first to go, followed soon after by Anushka Sharma (4) in the second over. Harmanpreet Kaur fell in the third over, getting caught off the bowling of Michelle Mavunga. By the 19th ball of the innings, India were on 19 for four down as Shafali Verma was caught and bowled off Gwanzura.
Zimbabwe players celebrate the fall of an Indian wicket // Photo Courtesy: BCCI //
Deepti Sharma (49) then joined hands with Prasad, to add 82 runs for the fifth wicket. Despite losing Deepti and Richa Ghosh in quick intervals, India had done enough to seal the game by the 16th over.
Prasad was unbeaten on 39* and finished the game with a boundary.
The second match of the T20I series will also be played on Raipur on Sunday. The third T20I will also be played at Raipur on 20 October. Following this, the teams will switch to the ODI format, and move to Vadodara.
T20I Series Schedule:
16 October, India won by four wickets, First T20I, Raipur
18 October, India v Zimbabwe, Second T20I, Raipur
20 October, India v Zimbabwe, Third T20I, Raipur
Photo Courtesy: BCCI