Harmanpreet’s unbeaten 91 powers India women to 3-0 T20I sweep of Zimbabwe

Harmanpreet Kaur struck an unbeaten 91 from 41 balls as India women thrashed Zimbabwe by 92 runs in the third and final T20I in Raipur on Tuesday, 20 October, completing a 3-0 sweep of the series.

Batting first after winning the toss, India piled up 216 for 7 in their 20 overs. Opener Shafali Verma added a 37-ball 69. Zimbabwe, chasing 217, never got close and ended on 124 for 7, despite a battling 60 from Sharne Mayers. Seamer Nandani Sharma was India’s most successful bowler with three wickets for 18 runs.

The result follows a four-wicket win in the opening match on Friday, 16 October, and a nine-wicket victory on Sunday, 18 October, both at the same venue.

Harmanpreet back among the runs

The former captain had scored only 1 in the first game and was not required to bat in the second. Coming in at No. 4 on Tuesday, she started slowly, with a single boundary in her first dozen deliveries, before cutting loose. According to ESPNcricinfo, she took 20 runs off one over from Chigora and finished with 10 fours and five sixes, two of them measured at 82 and 89 metres.

ESPNcricinfo noted that the innings was Harmanpreet’s second-highest score in T20 internationals and that India’s total was their joint-third-highest in the format. She and Shafali put on 84 together. Harmanpreet was on 81 when the final over began but could add only 10 from it, falling short of three figures.

Captain Smriti Mandhana explained at the toss that India wanted to bat first to give their middle order time in the middle. Mandhana herself did not bat. Anushka Sharma, who had occupied the No. 3 slot in the opening two matches, went in first with Shafali and made a brisk start before being caught at midwicket. Niki Prasad was dismissed cheaply at No. 3. Wickets fell quickly at the other end late in the innings too, as Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma and Arundhati Reddy each fell cheaply.

Shafali’s form, and an ICC reprimand

Shafali reached her half-century in 26 balls, her 23rd in T20Is and, according to ESPNcricinfo, her ninth fifty of the year. At one stage she struck three sixes and a four in the space of five balls.

Her strong batting came a day after the International Cricket Council (ICC) sanctioned her for an on-field incident in the second T20I. She was handed an official reprimand and one demerit point for a Level 1 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct. ESPNcricinfo, citing an ICC release, reported that the charge fell under Article 2.2, which covers abuse of cricket equipment, clothing or ground fixtures during an international match.

The incident happened on Sunday, during the 12th over of the Zimbabwe innings: Shafali hurled the ball down in frustration after dropping a catch at mid-off off the bowling of Sree Charani. It was her first offence in 24 months. She agreed to the penalty put forward by match referee GS Lakshmi, so no formal hearing was needed. No fine was reported; Level 1 breaches can carry a fine of up to half a player’s match fee, but the minimum penalty is a reprimand.

Zimbabwe’s chase never took off

Kranti Gaud removed Kelis Ndhlovu with her first delivery, and Nandani Sharma had Modester Mupachikwa caught behind in the next over. Mayers and Beloved Biza then shared an 82-run stand, but they scored slowly, and Zimbabwe were only 62 for 2 after 10 overs with the asking rate above 15.

Mayers reached her fifty off 45 balls, attacking Prema Rawat, who had replaced N Shree Charani in India’s XI. She fell in the following over. Biza scored 44 and earlier took 3 for 50 with the ball. Nandani took two wickets in the final over to finish with three. Zimbabwe also held some sharp catches in the field, including a leaping effort by Nyasha Gwanzura.

What comes next

The two sides now move to Vadodara for a three-match ODI series. The first game is on Friday, 23 October, and the second on Sunday, 25 October, with both scheduled to begin at 2 pm IST.

Sources: ESPNcricinfo (match report), ESPNcricinfo (Shafali Verma sanction), Outlook India, ESPNcricinfo (fixtures and results)