Vaishnavi Sharma’s maiden five-for seals 3-0 ODI sweep for India Women

Vaishnavi Sharma, the left-arm spinner, took her first five-wicket haul in international cricket, a career best, as India Women beat Zimbabwe Women by 8 wickets in the third and final ODI at the BCA Stadium in Kotambi, Vadodara, on 28 October. The win gave India a 3-0 sweep of the series.

Zimbabwe Women were bowled out for 131 in 39.5 overs after choosing to bat first. India Women replied with 133/2 in 17 overs.

The spell

Zimbabwe captain Josephine Nkomo tried to steady the innings with a fifth-wicket stand alongside Chiedza Dhururu. Vaishnavi then broke through the middle order and completed her five-wicket haul. PTI described her as a young spinner who foxed the batters with flight and guile.

Her haul was also the standout performance of the match, according to the ICC. By the end of the series she was India’s leading wicket-taker.

A short chase

Yastika Bhatia was dismissed for a golden duck in the opening over of the chase, but openers Pratika Rawal and Shafali Verma both finished not out and saw India home with 33 overs to spare.

Rawal reached her 10th ODI half-century in her 30th ODI, following scores of 100 and 61 in the first two games. She was India’s top batter in the series with 220 runs, including a century and two fifties.

What it means

It was Smriti Mandhana’s first ODI series as full-time captain. The ODI wins followed 9 wickets on 23 October and 121 runs on 25 October, after India Women had also won all three T20Is on the tour. Outlook India reports the result extended India’s unbeaten run across both formats on the tour to 6-0.

The matches counted towards the ICC Women’s Championship 2025-29 cycle. The sweep earned India six points and lifted them to 7th, while Zimbabwe, the Championship debutants, stay 10th.

India Women’s next fixtures are against South Africa Women, starting on 9 December at 1:30 PM IST.