Raipur, Oct 20 Shafali Verma made an entertaining 69 off 37 balls while former Harmanpreet Kaur returned to her destructive best with an unbeaten 91 off 41 balls as India hammered 216 for seven in the third T20I against Zimbabwe here on Tuesday.
Smriti Mandhana opted to bat with an aim to give more batters time in the middle.
For that very purpose, she made way for Anushka Sharma (28 off 20) to open the batting alongside Shafali, who scored a second consecutive half-century to lead India’s charge.
Anushka and Shafali shared a 54-run stand off 32 balls to set the tone for the innings.
Anushka pulled Tendai Makusha for a thundering six in the fifth over. Shafali, at the other end, hit sixes for fun in her sizzling effort and the majority of her five strikes went over deep mid-wicket.
The Indian opener also effectively employed the sweep against the spinners.
Following Shafali’s departure, Harmanpreet extended India’s six-hitting spree with five maximums. It was a good surface to bat on, ideal for Harmanpreet to return to her explosive ways.
The 37-year-old had not found her groove on the slow pitches of the Asia Cup and did not get a lot of batting time in the team’s triumphant Asian Games campaign in Japan.
“Feels great that I got some time in the middle. Just wanted to enjoy myself and bat as long as possible,” said Harmanpreet.
India smashed 62 runs in the last five overs with the loss of four wickets.
(PTI News)
