India secured a decisive T20I series victory against Zimbabwe in the second match, as captain Smriti Mandhana marked her full-time leadership tenure with an unassailable lead. The hosts were clinical, dismantling the opposition with a nine-wicket win that featured a record-breaking chase, wrapping up the result with 67 balls remaining—the largest margin for a 100-plus run chase in women’s T20I history.
Zimbabwe struggled to build momentum after being sent in to bat, managing only 102/8 in their allotted 20 overs. Nandani Sharma struck early by removing Kelis Ndhlovu in the fourth over, and the visitors crawled to 20/1 at the end of the Powerplay. Although a 45-run partnership between Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano and captain Josephine Nkomo provided brief resistance, Niki Prasad effectively neutralized the threat. Prasad made history by taking two wickets in the first two balls of her career, becoming only the third player to achieve this feat across men’s and women’s international cricket. Zimbabwe’s innings faltered from 75/5, barely crossing the century mark. But stuttered in the middle, zimbabwe crawled to the end of the Powerplay with 20/1 on the board. Before Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano and captain Josephine Nkomo displayed a gumption of a fight with a 45-run stand, it soon became 20/2 and then 30/3 in the ninth over. The Zimbabwean innings meandered away, just about getting past three figures in the final over, from 75/5 in 14.2 overs.
India’s pursuit was nothing short of explosive. Openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana registered 76/0, the team’s second-best Powerplay total in the format. Shafali took charge, punishing Nyasha Gwanzura with five boundaries in the fifth over, followed by a 4-4-6 sequence against Michelle Mavunga in the sixth. Shafali brought up her fifty—her ninth in 2026, marking the highest count for a player in a calendar year—with a six before departing. Her partnership with Mandhana reached a joint-record ninth fifty-plus stand for the duo in 2026. With six fours and four sixes, and added a ninth 50-plus stand with her captain Smriti Mandhana in 2026 – a joint-record in women’s T20I in a calendar year, as India swatted, shafali Verma smashed a 24-ball half-century. Mandhana tonked a big six off Olinder Chare in the seventh over. Before the whirlwind batting show, India put the brakes with the ball.
Mandhana remained unbeaten to seal the match with a six just six balls later, finishing with 47 not out. The total of 104/1 was reached in just 8.5 overs, cementing a dominant win. Brief scores: Zimbabwe Women 102/8 in 20 overs (Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano 34; Niki Prasad 2-7) lost to India Women 104/1 in 8.5 overs (Shafali Verma 55, Smriti Mandhana 47*) by 9 wickets. The blitz didn’t stop just because the fields spread.
