India Women won the first ODI at Kotambi Stadium by nine wickets, and the margin tells the story of the afternoon. Zimbabwe Women won the toss, chose to bat, and were bowled out for 197 in 49.5 overs. India needed 198, which is the first-innings total plus one, and they reached it at 200/1 in 27.1 overs with 137 balls still unused.
Beloved Biza was the only Zimbabwe batter to reach fifty. She scored 62 off 92 balls with five fours, and she carried much of the innings on her own. Michelle Mavunga added 29 off 23 balls, with three fours and a six, and Modester Mupachikwa made 25 off 44. The top order never got going. Loryn Phiri fell at 3 in the second over, and Mupachikwa was out at 55 in the 14.5th. Shree Charani took 4/23 in 10 overs, Kranti Goud returned 3/42, and Deepti Sharma took 2/44 in 9.5 overs. Zimbabwe's total was built from the lower order, and that never looked like enough.
The match turned on the stand that followed Smriti Mandhana's dismissal. Mandhana fell for 32 off 34 balls at 94 in the 15.3rd over, and from that point Pratika Rawal and Shafali Verma took control. Rawal finished on 100 not out off 96 balls, with 15 fours. Verma was unbeaten on 64 off 33 balls, with five fours and four sixes. India's score moved from 94 for 1 to 200 for 1, so 106 runs were added without another wicket falling. Verma's pace in that stand left the chase looking routine long before the end.
Zimbabwe's bowlers had few answers once the openers settled. Olinda Chare was the only bowler in the main list to take a wicket, but she went for 58 in seven overs. Michelle Mavunga conceded 19 in two overs without taking a wicket, and Nomvelo Sibanda went for 20 in two overs without a wicket. Those figures show a side that struggled to find a way through once Rawal and Verma were set. India, for their part, conceded only four extras to Zimbabwe's 12, which is a small but useful sign of control in the field.
This was the first match of the series, so India take a 1-0 lead into whatever comes next. The information available does not include the length of the series, the date of the second ODI, or the team news for it, so the record stops at this result. What it does show is a side that recovered from the loss of its opener and finished the match with more than a hundred balls to spare.