IND-W vs ZIM-W 1st ODI: Zimbabwe opt to bat, Jintimani Kalita makes debut

Zimbabwe women have won the toss and are elected to bat first against India in the first ODI of the three-match series at the BCA Stadium in Kotambi on Friday.  

Zimbabwe will be without the services of their skipper, Josephine Nkomo, as she is suffering from a niggle. Nomvelo Sibanda has been named the stand-in captain for the match.

Meanwhile, India have handed the debut to all-rounder Jintimani Kalita. The Smriti Mandhana-led side will look to carry its winning momentum into the 50-over format after completing a 3-0 sweep in the T20I series.

After winning the toss, Sibanda said that the team would look to put some runs on the scoreboard. "We want to put runs on the board, put scoreboard pressure. We want our batters to dominate. Our regular captain Nkomo is out with a niggle. We want to carry on from the positives into this series as well," she said after winning the toss.

Indian skipper Mandhana noted that there have been many changes to the team compared to the one that played in the T20Is. Mandhana also lauded Jintimani, who is making her ODI debut after replacing Renuka Singh in the squad on Thursday.

"We were looking to bat first as well; overhead conditions are good to bat, but it's a good thing we will know what to chase. We have a debut: Jintimani. Exciting player, she had a good India A series, and we have a couple of changes from the T20I side for sure. Balancing T20Is and ODIs... this format, we all know that we've done well in the past. It will take some time for us to adapt, but everyone in the net session practised that. We played on black soil here during the WPL, but it's back to red, which is more like the Baroda soil we know," Smriti said after losing the toss.

Playing XIs

Zimbabwe Women: Beloved Biza, Sharne Mayers, Nyasha Gwanzura, Modester Mupachikwa (wk), Chiedza Dhururu, Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano, Michelle Mavunga, Nomvelo Sibanda (c), Tendai Makusha, Loryn Phiri, and Olinder Chare.

India Women: Smriti Mandhana (c), Shafali Verma, Pratika Rawal, Harmanpreet Kaur, Tejal Hasabnis, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Shree Charani, Kranti Gaud, Sayali Satghare, Jintimani Kalita.