Niki, Deepti guide India to four-wicket win over Zimbabwe in first T20I

Debutant Niki Prasad and Deepti Sharma rescued India from 19/4 to secure a four-wicket win over Zimbabwe in the first women's T20I in Raipur. Sharne Mayers and Kelis Ndhlovu led Zimbabwe's scoring before India's bowlers restricted them to 114/5 overall

Raipur: Debutant Niki Prasad held her nerve to hit an unbeaten 39 while Deepti Sharma played a counter-attacking 49 as India recovered from a dramatic top-order collapse to beat Zimbabwe by four wickets in the first women’s T20I in New Delhi on Friday.

After being sent in to bat first in Raipur, hosting its first women’s international cricket game, Zimbabwe reached 60/1 at the halfway mark, with Kelis Ndhlovu (42) looking particularly fluent, and aided by some sloppy Indian fielding.

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But India’s bowlers squeezed the scoring through the middle overs. Sree Charani returned with 1-14 from her four overs, while Nandni Sharma had Nyasha and Michelle stumped off successive balls in the final over to finish with 2-11. Sharne Mayers provided late impetus with an unbeaten 43 to lift Zimbabwe to 114/5.

Chasing 115 at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, India got home with 26 balls to spare, but were made to work far harder than expected in Smriti Mandhana’s first match as full-time captain.

After the first four wickets fell quickly, Deepti and Niki shared an 82-run partnership off 63 balls for the fifth wicket to help India survive an almighty scare. The duo were adept at placing their shots through the gaps while rotating the strike well and helped the hosts take a 1-0 lead in the three-game series.

Smriti began the chase with two boundaries in the opening over, but her dismissal sparked a stunning slide. Medium pacer Nyasha Gwanzura struck with her very first ball, inducing a leading edge from Mandhana’s attempted lap shot, and then had Anushka Sharma caught at point three deliveries later.

Michelle Mavunga had Harmanpreet Kaur caught off a tame flick in a wicket-maiden over, while Nyasha held on to a sharp return catch to dismiss Shafali Verma in the fourth over. At 19/4, India had lost their first four wickets inside four overs for the first time in a women’s T20I. Zimbabwe, who had lost all 18 of their T20Is this year, suddenly sensed an extraordinary upset.

But Deepti and debutant Niki had other ideas. Deepti, the experienced left-hander, counter-attacked, stepping out to loft Nyasha for two boundaries in the sixth over, while Niki showed remarkable composure for a player in her first international innings.

The pair took 15 runs off Olinder Chare in the 10th over and punished Michelle for three fours in the 14-run 12th over to take the game away from Zimbabwe. Deepti fell agonisingly one run short of a half-century when she swept to short fine leg off Chare.

Richa Ghosh hit a six before falling to Beloved Biza, but Niki fittingly capped off the chase by driving Tendai Makusha for four to seal the win. Earlier, Zimbabwe relied almost entirely on Kelis (42) and Sharne (43 not out) for their runs, as the pair contributed 85 runs of the team’s final total, though the visitors played out 67 dot balls.

Zimbabwe lost Beloved in the first over, trapped lbw by Kranti Gaud for a four-ball duck. Kelis, though, set the early tempo, cutting and driving with authority. Initially, India did not help their cause on the field. Anushka Sharma’s wild throw at the stumps in the first over ran away for four overthrows, and another missed run-out in the sixth over cost four more as Kranti failed to back up.

Both chances could have accounted for Kelis’ partners. Zimbabwe reached 60/1 at the halfway mark, but struggled to build on that platform as India’s spinners tightened their grip. Charani, the leading wicket-taker in women’s T20Is this year, struck in the first over after the drinks break, taking a simple return catch to dismiss Modester Mupachikwa for 16.

India lost a review in the same over when Charani’s LBW appeal against Kelis was shown to be missing leg stump. But the squeeze told on Kelis, who, after reaching 42 off 30 balls, did not add another run and faced 14 dot balls before her dismissal.

There was drama in the 15th over when Niki ran in from long-off and took a diving catch to dismiss Kelis. Replays showed part of the ball had touched the turf as she slid, and third umpire N Janani overturned the decision. The reprieve lasted only two deliveries as Arundhati Reddy castled Kelis with a dipping slower ball for 42.

Sharne then counter-attacked, taking 15 runs off Arundhati’s final over with a lofted six over long-off and two boundaries through the off side as Zimbabwe went past 100. She had earlier struck the first six of the match off Shafali. But Nandni ensured there would be no big finish for Zimbabwe.

Using her back-of-the-hand slower ball, she had Nyasha and Michelle stumped by Richa off successive deliveries in the final over before Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano denied her a hat-trick. The two stumpings took Richa to 94 dismissals as a wicketkeeper in women’s T20Is, the fourth-highest in the format.

Sharne remained unbeaten on 43 off 33 balls with four fours and two sixes, but given how badly they rattled India’s top order, Zimbabwe will rue not adding another 20 or 25 runs, which could have made this a very different contest. The second T20I will be played here on Sunday.

Brief scores:

Zimbabwe 114/5 in 20 overs (Sharne Mayers 43 not out, Kelis Ndhlovu 42; Nandni Sharma 2-11, N. Sree Charani 1-14) lost to India 116/6 in 15.4 overs (Deepti Sharma 49, Niki Prasad 39 not out; Nyasha Gwanzura 3-18, Michelle Mavunga 1-19) by four wickets