IND-W vs ZIM-W, 2nd ODI: India eyes series win against injury-hit Zimbabwe

India secured a comfortable victory in the first ODI on Friday. | Photo Credit: X (@BCCIWomen)

The sun will rise in the east. A day has 24 hours. India will beat Zimbabwe.

Some certainties are written into the fabric of the universe. This one comes stamped with a scoreboard.

None of this is meant as a disrespect. Even the visitor speaks of an upset as a miracle: improbable, yet gloriously welcome should it arrive. But miracles demand fresh legs, and Zimbabwe’s are running on fumes. It comes into the second ODI at the BCA Stadium in Kotambi on Sunday carrying the bruises of a nine-wicket loss and the weight of a calendar that has given it little mercy.

The Lady Chevrons have been the busiest side in international cricket recently, playing non-stop since September. Niggles have crept up, with Josephine Nkomo and Kelis Ndhlovu missing the 1st ODI. Recovery has been a challenge, with the priority for the camp being the ICC Emerging Nations Trophy, which gets underway in Bangkok in November.

India, meanwhile, eyes an unassailable lead but isn’t without its own headaches.

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The pacers were erratic in the 1st ODI. Nandni Sharma, who made way for debutant Jintimani Kalita, was spotted doing her routines with her left knee in a compression brace. But the bigger issues are the wayward lines India settled into after the PowerPlay and an inability to bowl to set fields, which Zimbabwe smartly capitalised on.

Will India be brave and give wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh, whose errors have been piling up, a rest to allow Baroda girl Yastika Bhatia, who graces several billboards around the venue, a spot in the side? Or is there room for both, the way India has managed to embrace Shafali Verma and Pratika Rawal?

Given Zimbabwe’s batting deficiencies, it is likely that any combination India fields in the top six may not all get an opportunity in the two games left. Coach Amol Muzumdar and captain Smriti Mandhana must weigh rotating players to build depth for the South Africa tour or stick with a winning lineup.

The outcome is as good as written. The names, however, are not. Sunday will fill in the rest.