Raipur, Oct 18: Opener Shafali Verma clobbered a 25-ball 55 as India dismantled an inexperienced Zimbabwe by nine wickets in the second women’s T20I to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series here on Sunday.
The result of the match was a forgone conclusion once Zimbabwe were restricted to a lowly 102 for eight after they opted to bat first.
Shafali and skipper Smriti Mandhana (47 not out) unfurled their elite skills to decimate the tourists during their riveting opening stand, as India chased down the target of 103 in a mere 8.5 overs.
It also helped Mandhana begin her full-time captaincy stint with a series triumph.
Shafali, who added 96 runs with Mandhana, reached her fifty in 26 balls by hitting off-spinner Beloved Biza for a six. It was her 22nd half-century in T20Is.
Michelle Mavunga suffered at the hands of the Indian opener, getting creamed for 4, 4, 6 in successive balls.
Mandhana too had her moments when she peeled off four boundaries in a row off pacer Nyasha Gwanzura, indicating her touch on the day. She applied finishing touches to the match with an excellent inside out six off Olinder Chare.
Earlier, Indian bowlers produced a wonderful collective effort to restrict Zimbabwe to a lowly total.
Once they elected to bat first, Zimbabwe never really managed to impart momentum to their innings at any stage.
Pacer Nandani Sharma castled opener Kelis Ndhlovu for an 11-ball duck as the African side could not get off to a strong start.
All they could manage was just 20 runs in the Power Play segment for the loss of Ndhlovu. .
Biza too departed two balls after the Power Play, piling more pressure on the Zimbabweans.
Skipper Josephine Nkomo (27 not out) and Chipo Tiripano (34) then added 45 runs for the fourth wicket and that turned out to be the best part of their innings.
The partnership saw Zimbabweans fetch seven boundaries, trying to keep going. It helped the visitors add 56 runs in the middle phase from overs 7 to 15.
But off-spinner Niki Prasad (2/7) broke the partnership, eliciting an edge from Tiripano for stumper Richa Ghosh to take an easy catch.
Niki trapped Nyasha Gwanzura in front of the wicket to place herself near a hat-trick but could not achieve the rare feat. (PTI)
Brief Scores
Zimbabwe: 102/8 in 20 overs (Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano 34; Josephine Nkomo 27 not out; Niki Prasad 2/7)
India: 104/1 in 8.5 overs (Shafali Verma 55, Smriti Mandhana 47 not out; Beloved Biza 1/9)