India Women won the toss and elected to bat first in the third and final T20 International against Zimbabwe Women at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur on October 20.
Having already secured an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series with victories in the first two matches, India seeks to complete a clean sweep in the final game. The Indian team won the opening match by four wickets and the second by nine wickets.
Following the toss, India captain Smriti Mandhana explained the decision to bat first was to provide the middle-order batters with more time at the crease. She said, “We will bat first today as we want more game time for the middle order. In T20 cricket, we have to play positively. I don’t have a number in mind, but we are looking at 180 plus.”
Mandhana also confirmed that Sree Charani was resting for the match, with Prema Rawat included in the playing XI. Highlighting India’s power-hitting capability, she added, “When you have players like Shafali, definitely we will have more sixes.”
Zimbabwe captain Josephine Nkomo stated her team had also wished to bat first and expected the playing conditions to remain largely unchanged. She commented, “We were looking to bat first. I don’t think the conditions will change much, and we are looking to do well in the power-plays. We are trying to rotate the strike more and play positively.”
Nkomo further emphasised the importance of continuous improvement, saying, “You need to put in a lot of hard work and be willing to learn every game. We want to do well in all formats.”
With the series already decided, India will aim to maintain their winning momentum to close the T20I leg successfully, while Zimbabwe will seek a consolation victory in the final match.
The playing elevens were:
Zimbabwe Women: Kelis Ndhlovu, Beloved Biza, Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano, Sharne Mayers, Josephine Nkomo (captain), Nyasha Gwanzura, Modester Mupachikwa (wicketkeeper), Kudzai Chigora, Loryn Phiri, Tendai Makusha, Nomvelo Sibanda.
India Women: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana (captain), Anushka Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur, Niki Prasad, Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper), Deepti Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Nandani Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Prema Rawat.