Smriti Mandhana’s India Women eye sweep in third Zimbabwe ODI

Smriti Mandhana’s India Women meet Zimbabwe Women in the third and final ODI of the series at BCA Stadium, Kotambi, Vadodara, on Wednesday, 28 October, with a 2:00 PM IST start. India lead the ODI series after winning both matches so far.

The hosts are looking to close out their first bilateral women’s ODI series against Zimbabwe with another emphatic win, while the visitors have one last chance to put up a stronger fight.

How the series has gone

India Women have won all five matches of the tour. They took the three T20Is by 4 wickets, 9 wickets and 92 runs, then moved on to the ODIs.

The first ODI, on 23 October, ended in a 9-wicket win: Zimbabwe Women made 197 and India Women replied with 200/1 in 27.1 overs. The second, on 25 October, went India’s way by 121 runs, with India Women posting 328/6 in 50 overs and Zimbabwe Women finishing on 207 in 48.5 overs.

Selection questions and Zimbabwe’s task

Mandhana has started her full-time captaincy stint well, though PTI’s report notes that the opener would like a big innings before the series ends. Pratika Rawal has made a strong case to keep her opening place, and Shafali Verma, who has moved down to No 3, has done well in the new role.

For Zimbabwe, the same report says the batters have struggled to build sizeable partnerships against India’s varied attack. Their bowlers face another stern test against a deep Indian line-up. Josephine Nkomo captains the visitors’ squad, which also includes wicketkeeper Chiedza Dhururu.

India’s squad for the match is led by Mandhana, with Deepti Sharma as vice-captain. It also includes Harmanpreet Kaur, Yastika Bhatia, Richa Ghosh, Harleen Deol, Kranti Gaud and Shree Charani, among others.

What’s next

The series is part of the ICC Women’s Championship, and India begin the new Championship cycle in Vadodara. Their next assignment is a tour of South Africa, with the first ODI in Potchefstroom on 16 December 2026.