Smriti Mandhana era begins as India look to fix T20 flaws against Zimbabwe
India will use six T20s to sharpen its shortest-format plans as Smriti Mandhana begins her full-time captaincy with a series win over Zimbabwe.
- On Friday, Smriti Mandhana began her tenure as India's full-time captain, succeeding Harmanpreet Kaur, by leading the team to a four-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in the opening T20I at Raipur.
- The three-match series serves as critical preparation for the inaugural Women's Champions Trophy early next year, with Mandhana prioritizing team combinations across six upcoming T20 fixtures to establish performance standards.
- On Sunday, India defeated Zimbabwe by nine wickets to clinch the series 2-0, with Shafali Verma smashing 55 off 25 balls and Mandhana remaining unbeaten on 47 to seal the dominant chase.
- Restricting Zimbabwe to 102/8, debutant Niki Prasad claimed 2/7 in two overs while Deepti Sharma took 1/13, highlighting the spin unit's effectiveness in the series-clinching victory.
- Players from both nations observed a minute's silence and wore black armbands to honor former Zimbabwe cricketer and umpire Sarah Dambanevana, who passed away at age 36 earlier this week.
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