Raipur: Shafali Verma produced a blistering 25-ball 55 as India Women crushed Zimbabwe Women by nine wickets in the second T20I at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium on Sunday, sealing the three-match series 2-0 with a game to spare.
Put in to bat, Zimbabwe never recovered from a devastating opening burst by debutant Niki Prasad, who struck with the first two balls of her T20I career — the first Indian woman to take a wicket off her first ball in the format, and only the third player in men’s and women’s T20I history to take wickets off the first two balls of a career. Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano’s 34 and captain Josephine Nkomo’s unbeaten 27 were the only innings of substance as Zimbabwe stumbled to 102 for 8, with Prasad finishing at 2 for 7.
The chase was a procession. Shafali and Smriti Mandhana launched an all-out assault from the first over, racing to 40 without loss in four overs and 76 in the powerplay. Shafali brought up her fifty off 24 balls — six fours and four sixes — before falling for 55, while Mandhana finished unbeaten on 47 off 25 balls, sealing the win with a six as India reached 104 for 1 in just 8.5 overs, with 67 balls to spare.
The win carried a clutch of records. Shafali became the first batter in women’s T20I history to score more than 900 runs in a calendar year, taking her 2026 tally to 922. It was India’s 17th T20I victory of 2026 — the most by the team in a single calendar year — and, with 67 balls remaining, the biggest win in women’s T20Is while chasing a target above 100.
The result also marked Smriti Mandhana’s first series triumph as India’s permanent captain. The teams meet again in the third and final T20I in Raipur on October 20, where India will chase a 3-0 sweep.
