Raipur, Oct 18 (IANS) Zimbabwe captain Josephine Nkomo hailed India’s batting performance in the second T20I of the three-match series at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium here on Sunday.
India captain Smriti Mandhana (47* from 25 balls) and vice-captain Shafali Verma (55 from 25 balls) put up a 96-run partnership for the opening wicket off just 47 balls to kill the meagre chase of 103 to win the second match by nine wickets and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
Nkomo was in awe of the Indian batters and stated that it was a good learning experience for the team. “I thought that was a batting masterclass by the Indian team. We just stood there and had to watch and learn, and there’s no better way to learn than actually experiencing the carnage that happened out there,” Nkomo said in the post-match presentation.
During their 96-run association, Shafali and Mandhana also became the first pair to aggregate 1000-plus runs as a pair for any wicket in a single year in the format.
During her 55, Shafali also became the first women’s cricketer to aggregate more than 900 runs in a single year in T20Is as she now has 922 runs in 2026, well clear of South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt, who has hit 824 runs this year.
While India were on a roll with the bat after a strong performance with the ball, Zimbabwe’s batters found time pretty hard in the middle.
They made 20/1 in the powerplay and played 29 dot balls in the first six overs, which is now the second most by a team in Women T20Is in India.
The Women in Blue had played 30 dot balls in the first six overs against Pakistan women in Delhi in 2016 and then against South Africa women in Surat in 2019.
Zimbabwe captain reflected on her batting, underlining that they need to do well in the powerplay. “Yeah, I think the main difference today was we didn’t have a good start in the powerplay, and let’s just hope in the next game, hopefully we’ll have a good start, set a good foundation for everyone else to finish off the game well and not expose our bowlers,” she said.
Nkomo would like to take a leaf out of India’s book as they aim for improvement. “I think, yeah, like I said before, there’s quite a lot to learn, and the best way is to just watch them the way they bat. I think if we can take a leaf out of their book, that’ll be really good for us,” she concluded.
–IANS
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