Picture Credit: BCCI
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma scored centuries as India recovered from an early collapse to post 328/6 against Zimbabwe in the second women’s ODI at the BCA Stadium on Sunday.
Asked to bat first, India lost Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma inside three overs, slipping to 19/2. Harmanpreet and Pratika Rawal then rebuilt the innings with a 124-run third-wicket partnership.
Pratika scored 61 off 67 deliveries, hitting four boundaries and two sixes, before Nyasha Gwanzura dismissed her in the 23rd over.
Harmanpreet dominated the Zimbabwe bowlers with confident drives, cuts and sweeps.
She scored 126 off 121 balls, including 15 boundaries, to register her eighth ODI century. However, Zimbabwe missed several opportunities, dropping her three times during the innings.
Tejal Hasabnis fell for three, but Deepti joined Harmanpreet to stabilise India’s innings and accelerate the scoring.
The pair added 153 runs for the fifth wicket, setting a new record for India’s highest partnership for the fifth wicket or lower in women’s ODIs.
They surpassed the previous mark of 122 runs shared by Sneh Rana and Pooja Vastrakar against Pakistan in the 2022 ODI World Cup.
Harmanpreet departed for 126 after Michelle Mavunga ended her innings, while Richa Ghosh scored seven before falling in the 48th over.
Deepti completed her second ODI century off 83 balls in the final over. She remained unbeaten on 106 from 86 deliveries, striking 15 boundaries.
Her century was the fifth-fastest by an Indian woman in ODIs and made her the first Indian woman to score an ODI hundred at number six or lower.
Brief Scores: India 328/6 in 50 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 126, Deepti Sharma 106 not out; Nomvelo Sibanda 2/38) against Zimbabwe.
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