India Opts to Bat First Against Zimbabwe in Third T20 Match
India wins the toss and decides to bat first against Zimbabwe in the third T20 match, aiming for a series clean sweep.
Raipur, October 20 (Daily Kiran) : The Indian women’s cricket team has chosen to bat first after winning the toss against Zimbabwe in the third T20 match at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur. Prema Rawat has replaced Shree Charni in the playing eleven.
India has already secured the series, winning the first match by four wickets and the second by a commanding nine wickets, taking a 2-0 lead. The home team is now aiming for a clean sweep with a victory in this match.
After the toss, Indian captain Smriti Mandhana stated, “We will bat first today to give our middle order more time. In T20 cricket, we need to play positively. I haven’t set a specific target, but we aim to score over 180 runs. We want to give our players ample time. Shree Charni is resting, and Pallavi has been included in the squad. With players like Shefali, we can expect to see plenty of sixes.”
On the other hand, Zimbabwe’s captain Josephine Nkomo expressed her disappointment at not batting first, saying, “I don’t think the conditions will change much, and we will focus on performing well in the power play. We aim to rotate the strike and play positively. It requires hard work, and we must be ready to learn something new from each match. We want to perform well in all formats.”
India’s playing eleven includes: Shefali Verma, Smriti Mandhana (captain), Anushka Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur, Nikki Prasad, Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper), Deepti Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Nandini Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Prema Rawat.
Zimbabwe’s lineup features: Kelis Ndlovu, Bilweld Biza, Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano, Sharne Meyers, Josephine Nkomo (captain), Nyasha Gwanzura, Modester Mupachikwa (wicketkeeper), Kudzhai Chigora, Lorin Firi, Tendai Makusha, Nomvelo Sibanda.
