A day has 24 hours. The sun will rise in the east. India will beat Zimbabwe. Some certainties are written into the fabric of the universe. This one comes stamped with a scoreboard.
The Lady Chevrons have been the busiest side in international cricket recently, playing non-stop since September. Niggles have crept up, with Josephine Nkomo and Kelis Ndhlovu missing the 1st ODI. Recovery has been a challenge, with the priority for the camp being the ICC Emerging Nations Trophy, which gets underway in Bangkok in November.
The pacers were erratic in the 1st ODI. Nandani Sharma, who made way for debutant Jintimani Kalita, was spotted doing her routines with her left knee in a compression brace. But the bigger issues are the wayward lines India settled into after the PowerPlay and an inability to bowl to set fields, which Zimbabwe smartly capitalised on. Will India be brave and give wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh, whose errors have been piling up, a rest to allow Baroda girl Yastika Bhatia, who graces several billboards around the venue, a spot in the side? Or is there room for both, the way India has managed to embrace Shafali Verma and Pratika Rawal?
Coach Amol Muzumdar and captain Smriti Mandhana must weigh rotating players to build depth for the South Africa tour or stick with a winning lineup.