India Women land in Vadodara for three-ODI series against Zimbabwe

The India women's squad has landed in Vadodara. The team now turns from the shortest format to the 50-over game. Three ODIs against Zimbabwe will be played at the BCA Stadium in Kotambi, and the first is on Friday, 23 October. Security at the airport was tight as the players were taken out to the team hotel.

The visitors lost the T20I leg in Raipur. India closed that series with a 92-run win in the third match on Tuesday. They batted first and put up 216 for 7, and Zimbabwe's reply stalled at 124 for 7 in their 20 overs. India now carry that momentum into a format where the visitors' recent record is poor.

The ODI fixtures are:

- 1st ODI: Friday, 23 October
- 2nd ODI: Sunday, 25 October
- 3rd ODI: Wednesday, 28 October

All three are day-night games with a 2 pm IST start. Each match is followed by a rest day, so the series is finished within six days. The ODIs are part of the ICC Women's Championship cycle, which gives the results weight beyond the series itself.

The BCCI's Women's Selection Committee named a 15-player ODI squad on 6 October. Smriti Mandhana captains in both formats on this tour, and Deepti Sharma is her vice-captain for the ODIs. Shafali Verma, Pratika Rawal, Harmanpreet Kaur, Harleen Deol and Tejal Hasabnis make up the batting group. Richa Ghosh and Yastika Bhatia are the two wicketkeepers. The bowling and all-round options are Vaishnavi Sharma, Nandni Sharma, Sree Charani, Kranti Gaud, Sayali Satghare and Renuka Thakur.

Several names are in the ODI group but were not in the T20I squad. These are Rawal, Deol, Hasabnis, Bhatia, Vaishnavi Sharma, Satghare and Renuka. Some of them will be fighting for places in the side for bigger assignments ahead. The batting order is worth watching, with Mandhana, Rawal and Shafali all competing for top-order roles.

Mandhana arrives with strong recent numbers. Her tally over her last ten ODIs is 492 runs at an average of about 54.7 and a strike rate of roughly 97. Harmanpreet's last ten ODIs brought 352 runs at about 39. In the bowling department, Deepti has taken 20 wickets in her last ten ODIs at an economy rate near 6.15. Charani has 16 wickets in the same period at under six an over.

Zimbabwe's record this year makes them clear underdogs. They have played nine ODIs in 2026 and won only one. They sit 14th in the ICC women's ODI rankings. Beloved Biza was their leading run-scorer in the ODI series against West Indies earlier this year. In the Women's Championship table the tourists show two points from nine games and a net run rate of minus 2.731.

For India, the series is mainly about rhythm and depth. A comfortable result at home is expected. But captains and selectors will be looking more closely at how new combinations settle, how the openers build innings, and how the seamers and spinners share the workload over 50 overs. The Kotambi ground is used to big white-ball occasions, and local interest in the series is high.

The ODI side has a longer schedule to prepare for, too. India are due to tour South Africa for three ODIs in December. The Zimbabwe games give the management a chance to test plans against modest opposition before tougher assignments.

India go into the opening ODI as strong favourites on form and rankings. Zimbabwe will need a much better showing with bat and ball than they managed in the T20Is.