Smriti Mandhana’s reign as the Indian women’s cricket team’s new full-time captain began with a four-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in the first match of the IND-W vs ZIM-W T20I 2026 series in Raipur on Friday.
In what was the first-ever international meeting between the two teams in women’s cricket, India restricted Zimbabwe to a modest 114/5 after opting to field first.
The chase was anything but simple, however, as the hosts had to recover from 19/4 to reach 116/6 in 15.4 overs.
Deepti Sharma top-scored for India with 49 off 37 balls, while T20I debutant Niki Prasad remained unbeaten on 39 off 35. Earlier, Nandani Sharma returned 2/11 with the ball in four overs and was the pick of the Indian bowlers.
For Zimbabwe, Sharne Mayers remained unbeaten on 43, while Nyasha Gwanzura sparked India’s top-order collapse with 3/18.
The match marked Mandhana’s first outing as the full-time Indian captain after Harmanpreet Kaur stepped down from the role across formats.
It was also the first-ever women’s T20I match played in Raipur.
Zimbabwe lost opener Beloved Biza for a duck in the opening over but recovered to 34/1 in the powerplay.
Kelis Ndhlovu and Modester Mupachikwa added 53 for the second wicket to take Zimbabwe to 60/1 at the halfway stage.
Shree Charani removed Mupachikwa before Arundhati Reddy bowled Ndhlovu for 42.
Mayers provided the late impetus with an unbeaten 43 off 33 balls, but Nandani dismissed Gwanzura and Michelle Mavunga off successive deliveries in the final over as Zimbabwe finished on 114/5.
India began the chase well with 14 runs coming from the opening over but lost four wickets in quick succession.
Gwanzura removed Mandhana for nine and Anushka Sharma for four in the second over before Michelle Mavunga dismissed Harmanpreet for one.
Gwanzura then took a return catch to remove Shafali Verma for four, leaving India reeling at 19/4 in the fourth over.
Deepti joined debutant Niki, who had received her maiden international cap from Mandhana before the match, and the pair began the recovery.
India reached 37/4 at the end of the powerplay. The pair brought up their 50-run partnership in the 10th over as India reached 74/4 at the halfway stage, needing another 41 runs.
Their fifth-wicket stand eventually yielded 82 runs before Deepti fell one short of her half-century with India on 110. Niki, however, saw the win out with a boundary as India completed the chase with 26 balls remaining.
India and Zimbabwe will meet again in the second T20I in Raipur on Sunday.
IND-W vs ZIM-W 1st T20I 2026, brief scores: Zimbabwe 114/5 in 20 overs (Sharne Mayers 43 not out, Kelis Ndhlovu 42; Nandani Sharma 2/11) lost to India 116/6 in 15.4 overs (Deepti Sharma 49, Niki Prasad 39 not out; Nyasha Gwanzura 3/18) by four wickets.
read more: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/india-vs-zimbabwe-women-t20-cricket-2026-match-1-report
