Harmanpreet Kaur was brutal and Deepti Sharma sublime as their twin centuries headlined India’s commanding 121-run victory over minnows Zimbabwe in the second women’s ODI in Vadodara on Sunday.
India thus took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series having won the first match by a comfortable nine-wicket margin.
Having posted a formidable 328 for 6, the home team’s spinners, led by left-arm orthodox bowler Vaishnavi Sharma (four wickets), bowled Zimbabwe out for a paltry 207 in 48.5 overs. After scoring her century, Deepti polished off the opposition tail with figures of 3 for 32.
Harmanpreet, whose second coming as a pure batter has been nothing short of breathtaking, struck 126 off 121 balls laced with 15 well-timed boundaries. This was Harmanpreet’s eighth WODI century after she hit a match-winning 91 in one of the WT20Is played earlier.
She had an able companion in Deepti, who remained unbeaten on 106 off 86 balls with 15 hits to the fence.
Harmanpreet regaled a sizable crowd with her sublime play on the off-side. Her copybook cover drives and cut shots were a delight to watch.
The former India captain shared a 153-run stand with all-rounder Deepti, whose knock came off 86 balls, as the two veterans took India to a commanding total.
It is the first time that India and Zimbabwe are playing a bilateral series, providing the visitors an ideal opportunity to learn from a top side.
India did not have the best of starts as Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma fell cheaply. Newly-appointed captain Mandhana mistimed a pull in the first over of the game before Shafali was caught at mid-wicket, giving Nomvelo Sibanda her second wicket.
Pratika Rawal (61 off 67) and Harmanpreet forged a 124-run partnership to take the innings forward. The prolific Indian opener was caught at deep mid-wicket in the 23rd over. Tejal Hasanbis too could not execute the slog sweep.
Harmanpreet then owned the stage with her perfectly paced knock. She also had luck on her side, having been dropped thrice. It was Harmanpreet’s eighth ODI hundred and she seems to be enjoying life without the extra responsibility of captaining the side.
India were not able to finish as well as they would have liked. India’s designated finisher Richa Ghosh did not last long, putting the brakes on the scoring.
Deepti reached her second ODI hundred with a four towards square leg in the final over of the innings. Overall, she hit 15 boundaries.
Considering their struggles with the bat on the tour, Zimbabwe needed a major improvement to get close to India’s total.
However, Vaishnavi, playing her second WODI, bowled tight lines and picked up wickets in quick succession, leaving the opposition batters with little chance of chasing down the mammoth total.
Modester Mupachikwa (49) and Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano (46) were the main contributors, but their efforts were not enough to make a difference.
(PTI)
