Raipur, 19 October 2026: Niki Prasad took wickets with her first two balls in international cricket as India beat Zimbabwe by nine wickets in the second T20I in Raipur on Sunday to clinch the three-match series.
The 20-year-old off-spinner finished with 2/7 from two overs. She is only the third player to take two wickets with the first two balls of a T20I career.
An exclusive club
Prasad joins Australia’s Michael Kasprowicz, who did it against New Zealand in 2005, and Akshatha Rao of the USA, who did it against Bangladesh in 2019.
It capped a strong start to her India career. In the series opener on Friday, she made an unbeaten 39 on debut and hit the winning runs after sharing an 82-run stand with Deepti Sharma, with India 19 for four in a chase of 115.
An Under-19 World Cup-winning captain
Prasad has already won a global title. She captained India to their second straight ICC Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup in Malaysia at the start of 2025, when the team went through the tournament unbeaten.
After the first T20I, Deepti said Prasad looked as though she had been playing for India for years.
“Lessons from a match that didn’t go well”
Prasad said she tries not to dwell on poor days.
“If I keep thinking that my performance is not good, then I think I will play the next matches under the same pressure,” she said. “So I think about what the lessons were from a match that didn’t go well and how to apply them in the next match.”
She said India still had areas to tighten despite the comfortable win. “I think in every practice session and every match, we try to make as many improvements as possible. There were some misfields here and there, but overall, our team’s progress has been really good.”
Settling into the side
This is Prasad’s first time with the senior India team, and she spoke about the dressing room under captain Smriti Mandhana.
“Over the years, I can see how good the team environment has been. And I think Smriti di is carrying the same thing forward,” she said.
Series schedule
- First T20I: 16 October, Raipur – India won by four wickets
- Second T20I: 18 October, Raipur – India won by nine wickets
- Third T20I: 20 October, Raipur
India will look to finish the series 3-0 on Tuesday before the teams move to Vadodara for three ODIs. Read the first T20I report.
