IND-W vs ZIM-W

6:56 PM local time and IST: So that is a wrap on our coverage of Zimbabwe's tour of India. You can now switch over to the men's Test match at Newlands in Cape Town, between South Africa and Australia, by clicking here. This is the duo of Pradeep and Bidipto taking your leave. Keep following Sportskeeda! 

Smriti Mandhana (India captain): "Yes, feels good. Three ODI wins, championship points for the next World Cup, so yes, that's a good start. We were good with the ball, Vaishnavi picked up her first fifer, which is great! We were quite dominating in both series. Our pacers have tried hitting the stumps a lot more, which is a good thing. We wanted to give both Yastika (Bhatia) and Harleen (Deol) a hit today. Even if we batted first, we would keep the same batting order."

Pratika Rawal (Player of the Series): "Batting for long durations is something I have worked on specifically, and that has paid off. I have also worked on my aerial shots. I have worked on my tactical side of batting. So, all that has reaped rewards. I have otherwise tried to bat like I do and keep it simple. Now, my focus is on domestic cricket, I'll be flying to Lucknow next." 

Vaishnavi Sharma (Player of the Match, 5/39 in 10 overs): "Extremely happy! I followed the process and the wickets came. Change of angles has helped in foxing the batters too, somewhat. I have improved on my mindset, and I have worked on different aspects of the game. A lot of work has been put in by my family and me, so, this award means a lot to me." 

Josephine Nkomo (Zimbabwe captain): “There were plenty of positives to take away from the series. We had a couple of half-centuries, some good bowling performances and excellent fielding. Going forward, we want to play with more positivity and intent from the very first ball, while continuing to improve with every game. Gwanzura bowled well, Modester did a good job behind the stumps, and a few players stepped up with the bat in the ODIs as well. There are definitely encouraging signs to build on.”

Amol Muzumdar (Head Coach, India Women): [On the key takeaways from the series] “I think two things really stood out for me. First, giving opportunities to the youngsters coming through in the Indian team, and second, the domination we wanted to bring to the game. We spoke about it in our team meetings and in the dressing room — whenever we get an opportunity, we want to dominate. I think we were successful in doing that in both the T20Is and the ODIs.” [On using bilateral series to prepare for major tournaments] “Absolutely. These series give us the opportunity to experiment with combinations, whether that's playing three seamers, two spinners or three spinners in the XI. Bilateral series help set the tone for major tournaments. We followed that approach ahead of the 2025 World Cup as well, with a few bilateral series helping us prepare.” [On balancing immediate results with long-term planning] “That's part of the job. We want to put out our best combination while keeping an eye on the near future. We're not looking too far ahead, but we do have the next six months in mind and try to strike the right balance. Hopefully, we've got that right in this series and found the combination we were looking for.” [On preparing for the South Africa series] “It will be a good challenge, with all three formats coming up in December, starting with the Test match. We want to go back to basics and play our natural game. We've done well in Test cricket, and we'd love to continue that form before moving on to the ODI and T20I series. Ahead of the South Africa tour, we'd also like to have a short camp at the Centre of Excellence and work on a few areas.” [On Smriti Mandhana's leadership] “She communicated really well, and that was impressive. As you said, she's no stranger to leadership, but she's handled the role very well. She's already looking ahead to the next six months, and after this series win, we'll sit together and discuss how we want to move forward.”

6:10 PM local time and IST: India win by 8 wickets with 33 overs to spare, and clean-sweep the series 3-0! 

Pratika Rawal 59* (56) | Vaishnavi Sharma - 5/39 (10)
Modester Mupachikwa 37 (48) | Nomvelo Sibanda - 1/18 (3)

We knew that it wouldn't take India long, and the Women in Blue have ensured victory before drinks could come on to the field! Pratika Rawal and Shafali Verma finished it off with a cracking 74-run unbeaten partnership to seal the series! 

India gave both Yastika Bhatia and Harleen Deol opportunities to get a hit. Yastika got her chance to open the batting, but squandered it first ball, giving mid-on the simplest of catches. 

Harleen did put together a 59-run 2nd wicket stand with Pratika, but got strangled down leg for her individual score of only 19. Both these batters had to make the most of their opportunities, but that didn't quite work out the way India wanted. 

Pratika though, was excellent again, showcasing both her touch-play and her power. A well-deserved half-century once again, making her the strongest contender for Player of the Series. 

And Shafali, like she does, breezed through and reached yet another fifty, to finish things off for her team in 17 overs only! Proper Shafali knock, with lots of strokes and a whole lot of intent! 

As for Zimbabwe, it's all about the learnings of playing a series like this. They must have got plenty of experience being part of a 3-match ODI series against India in India. So, it's time to put all that to use from here on.

16.6 Olinder Chare to Shafali Verma, SIX! GAME, SET AND MATCH! Shafali finishes things in style and gets to her FIFTY. India romp home by 8 wickets and complete a whitewash, 3-0! Shimmies down the wicket, pummeled it all the way over long-on for a maximum to seal the deal.

16.3 Olinder Chare to Shafali Verma, OH! Good length outside the off-stump, sits on one knee to slog sweep it, but doesn't get hold of it and picks out the fielder at cow corner for just one.