India Women continued their dominant run against Zimbabwe with a 121-run win in the second ODI at the BCA Stadium in Vadodara on Sunday (Oct 25), taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series after their clean sweep in the T20Is.
Batting first, India recovered from an early collapse to post 328/6, thanks to centuries from Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma. In reply, Zimbabwe were bowled out for 207 in 48.5 overs. Vaishnavi Sharma led India’s bowling attack with four wickets, while Deepti also made an impact with the ball.
Earlier, India got off to a poor start as Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma fell early, leaving the hosts at 19/2. However, Harmanpreet and Pratika Rawal steadied the innings with a 124-run partnership for the third wicket.
Harmanpreet scored 126 off 121 balls, hitting 15 fours, while Pratika contributed 61 off 67 deliveries. After Tejal Hasabnis departed for just three, Deepti joined Harmanpreet and added 153 runs for the fifth wicket.
Deepti completed her century off 83 balls, reaching the milestone for the second time in her ODI career. She remained unbeaten on 106 off 86 deliveries, helping India finish with a strong total.
Zimbabwe struggled to keep up with the required run rate but received some resistance from Modester Mupachikwa and Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano. Mupachikwa scored 49, while Mugeri-Tiripano made 46 as the pair added 69 runs for the third wicket.
Vaishnavi broke the partnership by dismissing Mupachikwa before taking three more wickets to finish with figures of 4/39. Deepti also claimed three wickets, including two in consecutive deliveries, as Zimbabwe struggled to chase down the target.
With this win, India sealed the series with one match remaining and skipper Mandhana will now aim to complete a clean sweep in the final ODI before the team turns its attention to upcoming challenges, including the tour of South Africa.