Harmanpreet's 91*, Nandani's 3/18 power India Women to 3-0 sweep of Zimbabwe

India Women finished their home T20I series against Zimbabwe with a one-sided win in Raipur on Tuesday night. They won the third match by 92 runs and took the series 3-0. Harmanpreet Kaur's late hitting and Shafali Verma's fast start set up the win, and Nandani Sharma led a disciplined bowling effort.

India won the toss and chose to bat at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium. They finished on 216 for seven, which is joint-third on the list of India's highest women's T20I totals. Shafali set the tone with 69 off just 37 balls. Anushka Sharma gave her a brisk start at the top with a quick 28 before she fell.

Harmanpreet then took over and finished on 91 not out from 41 deliveries. She has been India's former captain for a while now, and this was a timely return to the sort of touch that made her a match-winner for years. Her unbeaten knock was one of the best of her T20I career and took the total well past 200 in the closing overs.

Zimbabwe's bowlers had some success at the death. Beloved Biza was the pick of them with three wickets for 50 runs, and the visitors also held some good catches. Even so, the total was always going to be a long way out of reach.

The chase never really got going. Zimbabwe lost both openers inside the first two overs, with Kelis Ndhlovu out first ball and Modester Mupachikwa gone by the second over. At 12 for two, a target of 217 looked unrealistic. Sharne Mayers and Biza then steadied things with an 82-run stand for the third wicket. Zimbabwe were 62 for two at the halfway stage, but the required rate kept rising.

Mayers made 60 off 49 balls, with four fours and four sixes. The four sixes were the only ones Zimbabwe hit in the whole innings. Niki Prasad broke the partnership in the 15th over when Mayers holed out to Shafali. Biza made 44. Once the pair were separated, the lower order collapsed quickly. Zimbabwe lost four wickets for 30 runs and finished on 124 for seven.

Nandani was India's best bowler, taking three wickets for 18 runs in her four overs. Prasad, Deepti Sharma and Kranti Gaud also took wickets, which shows how well the bowling group worked as a unit.

A margin of 92 runs is a heavy defeat by any measure. It is joint-fifth among Zimbabwe's biggest women's T20I losses by runs. They have suffered several heavy defeats against other sides this year.

For India, the series gave the selectors a lot to be pleased about. Shafali continued her good form at the top of the order. Harmanpreet looked fluent again, which matters as a settled and confident middle order is vital for chasing and setting big totals. Nandani's economical spell also adds depth to the bowling options.

India will not read too much into a series against an opponent ranked well below them. But winning all three matches convincingly, with different players contributing, is the kind of result a team wants before bigger assignments. The next step for the group is to carry this batting tempo and bowling discipline into tougher contests against stronger opposition.