India Women vs Zimbabwe Women 1st ODI: Mandhana's side begin 50-over leg
India Women move from Raipur to Vadodara on Friday for the 50-over leg of Zimbabwe's tour. The first of three ODIs at the Kotambi stadium starts at 2 PM IST as a day-night game. It is the first of three matches in five days, with the second on 25 October and the third on 28 October, all at the same ground.
India arrive in good shape. They won the T20I series 3-0, though the opening game was closer than the scoreline suggests. Zimbabwe made 114 for 5 and India needed 15.4 overs and lost six wickets to get home by four wickets. The second game was one-sided. Zimbabwe could only manage 102 for 8, and India chased it down in 8.5 overs with the loss of one wicket. The third match brought the biggest gap. India posted 216 for 7 and bowled Zimbabwe out for 124 for 7, winning by 92 runs.
The ODIs matter more than the T20Is did. They count towards the ICC Women's Championship, the qualification route for the 2029 World Cup. India enter as defending champions, so every result will count towards their position in the table. Smriti Mandhana leads the side, and the 50-over format will be a different test of her captaincy from the T20Is. She has to handle a longer innings, think about when to rotate her bowlers, and deal with evening dew. Most match previews expect the toss winner to bat first. Dew could make the ball harder to grip for the spinners later in the evening.
The batting order looks settled at the top. Mandhana is expected to open with Shafali Verma, who attacks from the start. Mandhana is the steadier of the two and can anchor the innings. Harmanpreet Kaur is expected in the middle order, and Deepti Sharma offers all-round depth. Richa Ghosh is a likely wicketkeeper, and Shree Charani is in the spin attack. Pratika Rawal and Harleen Deol are also among the names being talked about for the top six. Kranti Gaud and Renuka Singh are in the frame for the pace department, and a final bowling spot may go to Nandani Sharma or Vaishnavi Sharma. The exact eleven will be known at the toss.
For Zimbabwe, this is a first bilateral series against India, and they arrive with some recent confidence. They won an ICC Women's Championship game against the West Indies in Harare on 27 September. It was a four-wicket victory and the side's first win in the competition. They have kept the same squad for this tour under Josephine Nkomo. The 50-over game gives them a better chance to build an innings than T20 did. Fast bowler Nyasha Gwanzura has been one of their better performers, and Beloved Biza and Kelis Ndhlovu are the batters to watch. They will need to get through the first ten overs without losing early wickets, because India's batting depth makes any stumble hard to recover from.
Zimbabwe's recent ODI record outside that win is difficult. They lost all three ODIs and all three T20Is on a tour of Pakistan in May. They are also well down the rankings. A side with that record is unlikely to threaten India over 50 overs unless the hosts have an off day. That is why this series may be more useful to India as preparation than as a contest. Mandhana can use these games to try combinations, give the middle order time at the crease and see who can bowl in the middle overs.
The pitch at the ground usually favours batters, and high scores are common. A total between 280 and 320 is usually enough there. That suits India's strength, and it puts the onus on Zimbabwe's bowlers to find movement early.