Bowlers, Shafali, Mandhana power India to series win

Zimbabwe opted to bat and faced 71 dot balls. They might have known this Raipur pitch was going to be grippy and slow: they had batted first in the first T20I on Friday, put in by Smriti Mandhana in her first act as full-time captain, and scoring only 114 for 5. On Sunday, they fared worse, finishing on 102 for 8. But if Zimbabwe captain Josephine Nkomo had hoped for another miracle collapse like India's in the first game, when they were 19 for 4 in the chase, Zimbabwe were greeted here with a thumping loss - by nine wickets and 67 balls to spare - instead.

Mandhana had departed for nine in the first T20I, but in the second, she stayed till the end, scoring an unbeaten 47 off 25. If Zimbabwe had been in second gear through their first innings, India began in fifth and never decelerated, thanks to her 96-run opening stand with Shafali Verma.

The right-handed Shafali was even quicker than Mandhana, bashing her way to 55 off 24 before she holed out to long-on in the eighth over. By then, India needed just seven runs to seal the chase, which Mandhana duly did with a pristine six over extra cover, securing her first series win as full-time captain.

Zimbabwe's go-slow in powerplay

In the previous T20I, Zimbabwe had kept themselves at a run-a-ball rate for most of their batting innings, thanks in large part to opener Kelis Ndhlovu's battling 42. At the toss, though, Mandhana said she wanted India to "be more disciplined with the ball". Her bowlers delivered immediately in this game, with Kranti Gaud and Nandani Sharma sharing the new ball and using the shape in the air, and grip off the pitch, to continuously bowl on a good length.

Zimbabwe finished on 20 for 1 in the powerplay, struggling to power the ball past the fielders inside the circle. Ndhlovu had perished to Nandani - for an 11-ball duck - swinging through the line and losing her shape. Fellow opener Beloved Biza fell just two deliveries after the powerplay herself, running down the track and only sending Deepti Sharma's delivery as far as extra cover, to Harmanpreet Kaur.

Zimbabwe's two innings of note - by Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano and Nkomo - were a result of game awareness instead of muscle. Mugeri-Tiripano especially benefited off reverse-sweeps, employing them back-to-back when Shree Charani introduced in the tenth over to collect two fours.

Her innings of 34 off 32 would have come to an end sooner if not for India's sloppy outfield catching. Shafali dropped a simple chance off Charani's bowling in the 12th over, then Kranti Gaud spilled her at long-on an over later.

Niki Prasad came on for the 15th over, and immediately struck, first taking out Mugeri-Tiripano, then Nyasha Gwanzura. She became only the fourth bowler in women's internationals to two wickets with their first two legitimate balls.

Nkomo's own innings - mostly played in the death overs - was slower, with her 27 runs coming off 35 balls. She was successful in sticking around, however, to ensure Zimbabwe played out their overs and crossed the three-figure mark, finishing on 102 of 8. Mandhana used seven bowling options, out of whom five took at least one wicket, vindicating her desire for better line-and-length at the toss.