Former captain Harmanpreet Kaur struggled to keep her emotions in check after a sizzling 91 not out off 41 balls, setting up India’s commanding 92-run win over Zimbabwe in the third and final T20I in Raipur on Tuesday (October 20, 2026).
The game marked the return to form for Harmanpreet, who was struggling for runs of late and stepped down as captain ahead of the Zimbabwe series. The two teams will now head to Vadodara for a three-match ODI series starting on October 23.
Not many strike the ball as well as Harmanpreet does and that is what she exhibited in her statement innings. Captain 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.
The 37-year-old had not found her groove on the slow pitches of the Women’s T20 Asia Cup and did not get a lot of batting time in the team’s triumphant Asian Games campaign in Japan. Even though it came against a lower-ranked team, the knock would provide Harmanpreet much-needed confidence ahead of the important assignments, including the inaugural six-team ICC Women’s Champions Trophy in the shortest format at home early next year.