Raipur, 16 October 2026: Debutant Niki Prasad made an unbeaten 39 and finished the match with a boundary as India recovered from 19 for four to beat Zimbabwe by four wickets in the first T20I on Friday.
Chasing 115, India were in trouble inside 3.1 overs before Prasad and Deepti Sharma (49) put on 82 for the fifth wicket. India reached the target in the 16th over to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Zimbabwe held to 114
Smriti Mandhana won the toss in her first match as India’s full-time captain and chose to field.
Kranti Gaud struck in the first over, trapping Beloved Biza leg-before. Kelis Ndhlovu (42) and Modester Mupachikwa (16) steadied the innings, and Sharne Mayers (43) added late runs to take Zimbabwe past 100.
Nandani Sharma (2/11) and Sree Charani (1/14) kept the scoring in check, and Zimbabwe finished on 114 for five.
Gwanzura strikes early
India’s batting order was expected to finish the chase quickly, but Nyasha Gwanzura had other ideas. She took 3/18 in an inspired spell.
Mandhana (9) went first, followed by Anushka Sharma (4) in the second over. Harmanpreet Kaur was caught off Michelle Mavunga in the third, and Shafali Verma was caught and bowled by Gwanzura on the 19th ball. India were 19 for four.
The rescue act
Prasad, who captained India to the ICC Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup title in 2025, joined Deepti and the pair rebuilt the innings. India lost Deepti and Richa Ghosh in quick succession near the end, but by then the job was almost done, and Prasad struck the winning runs.
Deepti full of praise
Deepti said the newcomer did not look like a debutant.
“Niki played really well. Honestly, it didn’t seem at all like she was making her debut. It felt like she had played quite a few matches in the past, for the country,” she said.
“This confidence from a youngster is remarkable – you’re building a partnership when the team needs it, winning the match from a tough situation. I’m sure she’ll take a lot of confidence from this match.”
She said there was no panic in the dressing room at 19 for four. “To tell you the truth, the two of us were there; there was Richa (Ghosh) as well, batting behind us. It didn’t feel like a situation where anything could happen. We took a bit of a pause at that moment, and thought about what to do next.
“It definitely wasn’t a situation for panic, because if there’s no pressure, how will you grow strong as a player and as a team?”
Deepti added that India would learn from the early collapse. “Of course, we want to play an aggressive brand of cricket, and that was in our mind. Occasionally, these things happen in a match. We always learn from our innings and our matches. I’m sure what happened today won’t happen in the next match.”
What’s next
The second and third T20Is will also be played in Raipur, on 18 and 20 October. The teams then move to Vadodara for three ODIs on 23, 25 and 28 October.
