On October 23, 2025, Pratika Rawal and Smriti Mandhana registered stunning centuries against New Zealand to bring a struggling ODI World Cup campaign back on track in Navi Mumbai.

Exactly a year later, Pratika, with help from a marauding Shafali Verma, raised her bat once more to earn India a crushing nine-wicket win over Zimbabwe in the first ODI at the BCA Stadium here on Friday.

Zimbabwe avoided a collective slow roast under the scorching sun and India’s big-hitting prowess by opting to bat first, but struggled to get going on the red-soil pitch. The home team’s tight lines and smart use of early swing condemned the visitor to a nervy crawl.

The Lady Chevrons managed three partnerships of over 40 runs. Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano and Modester Mupachikwa resisted the host’s charge, after which 17-year-old Beloved Biza took over, making best use of India’s wavering concentration to notch up her fourth ODI fifty.

Also useful for the away side were a few blips in the field and the occasional width given, especially by Deepti Sharma and debutant Jintimani Kalita. N. Shree Charani, however, punctuated any audacity shown with a miserly effort and four wickets to record her best figures in the format.

An enterprising cameo by Michelle Mavunga kept alive Zimbabwe’s dream of a total in excess of 200, only for it to guttingly fall short of that mark by three runs.

Chasing a meagre 198, Smriti and Pratika’s 94-run opening stand reduced Zimbabwe to a herd of deer in the headlights. Olinder Chare dismissed Smriti in the 16th over, but Shafali, batting at No. 3 for only the second time in the format, didn’t disappoint. Her 106-run unbroken partnership with Pratika sealed the contest with 137 balls to spare, getting India off to a winning start in the ICC Championship.

The scores: Zimbabwe 197 in 49.5 overs (Beloved Biza 62, N. Shree Charani 4/23, Kranti Gaud 3/42) lost to India 200/1 in 27.1 overs (Pratika Rawal 100 n.o., Shafali Verma 64 n.o.).

Toss: Zimbabwe; PoM: Pratika.