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India Women Beat Zimbabwe by Nine Wickets in Raipur to Seal the Series 2-0

Shafali Verma hit 55 off 25 balls and Smriti Mandhana finished unbeaten on 47 as India chased 103 in 8.5 overs in Raipur on Sunday, winning the second T20I by nine wickets with 67 balls to spare and taking an unassailable 2-0 series lead.

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India Women Beat Zimbabwe by Nine Wickets in Raipur to Seal the Series 2-0

Key points

  • India's women sealed their T20I series against Zimbabwe with a game to spare in Raipur on Sunday, chasing down 103 in just 8.5 overs to win the second match by nine wickets.
  • The win came with 67 balls to spare.
  • Zimbabwe won the toss and chose to bat at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, but never got moving.

India's women sealed their T20I series against Zimbabwe with a game to spare in Raipur on Sunday, chasing down 103 in just 8.5 overs to win the second match by nine wickets. Shafali Verma hit 55 off 25 balls and captain Smriti Mandhana finished unbeaten on 47 off 25, as India took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

The win came with 67 balls to spare. IANS reported that it is the biggest win by balls remaining in women's T20Is when chasing a target of 100 or more, passing the West Indies mark of 65 balls against the same opponents in Harare.

Zimbabwe held to 102

Zimbabwe won the toss and chose to bat at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, but never got moving. ESPNcricinfo reported that Zimbabwe faced 71 dot balls in their innings and finished on 102 for 8 from their 20 overs. Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano top-scored with 34 and captain Josephine Nkomo made 27, while Niki Prasad was the pick of India's bowlers with 2 for 7.

It was a second hard day in a row for the visitors. In the first T20I on Friday, October 16, Zimbabwe had made 114 for 5, and India stumbled to 19 for 4 in the chase before recovering to win by four wickets.

The chase takes nine overs

There was no repeat of that wobble. Verma hit a four and a six in the first over, Mandhana hit four straight fours in a fifth over that went for 21 runs, and India raced to 76 for 0 inside the six-over powerplay. The opening pair put on 96 before Verma was caught at long-on in the eighth over, one ball after she reached her fifty off 24 balls. By then India needed seven runs, and Mandhana finished the match with a six over extra cover.

The result gives Mandhana her first series win as India's full-time captain. It was also India's 17th T20I win of 2026, a record for the team in a calendar year, passing the 16 wins recorded in 2018, IANS reported. The third and final match of the series is on Tuesday, October 20, with India chasing a 3-0 sweep and Zimbabwe playing for a first win on the tour.

Timeline

  1. Oct 16, 2026India wins the first T20I against Zimbabwe on October 16, 2026 by four wickets, recovering from 19 for 4 in the chase after Zimbabwe made 114 for 5.
  2. Oct 18, 2026India wins the second T20I in Raipur on October 18, 2026 by nine wickets, chasing 103 in 8.5 overs to take an unassailable 2-0 series lead.
  3. Oct 20, 2026India and Zimbabwe play the third and final T20I of the series on October 20, 2026, with India chasing a 3-0 sweep.

Sources