Raipur, Oct 20 (IANS) India won the toss and elected to bat against Zimbabwe in the third Women’s T20I of the series at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur on Tuesday.
India captain Smriti Mandhana said the team opted to bat first to give the middle order more time in the centre, with a target of scoring 180-plus. “In T20 cricket, we have to play positively, and I don’t have a number in mind, but we are looking at 180-plus,” she said.
Mandhana added that Sree Charani was rested for the match, with Prema Rawat coming into the side, and expected the team to hit more sixes with power-hitter Shafali Verma in the line-up.
Zimbabwe captain Josephine Nkomo said her team was keen to bat first and make the most of the powerplays, adding that the side would focus on rotating the strike and maintaining a positive approach.
“I don’t think the conditions will change much and we are looking to do well in the powerplays. We are trying to rotate the strike more and play positively,” she said.
Nkomo stressed that consistent improvement required hard work and a willingness to learn from every game, adding that Zimbabwe were aiming to perform well across all formats.
India Women have already sealed the three-match T20I series after winning the first two matches. They are now hoping to make a clean sweep by winning the third match.
TheT20I series will be followed by a three-match ODI series at Vadodara, with matches scheduled on October 23, 26 and 28.
Playing XIs:
India Women: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana (c), Anushka Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur, Niki Prasad, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Nandani Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Prema Rawat
Zimbabwe Women: Kelis Ndhlovu, Beloved Biza, Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano, Sharne Mayers, Josephine Nkomo (c), Nyasha Gwanzura, Modester Mupachikwa (wk), Kudzai Chigora, Loryn Phiri, Tendai Makusha, Nomvelo Sibanda
–IANS
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