Smriti Mandhana Starts Full-Time Captaincy With Four-Wicket Win Over Zimbabwe in Raipur
Mandhana, who took over from Harmanpreet Kaur, led India to a four-wicket T20I win over Zimbabwe in Raipur, with five more matches to follow.
Smriti Mandhana began her first series as India's full-time women's captain on 16 October 2026, leading the side in the opening Twenty20 International (T20I) against Zimbabwe at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur. India won by four wickets, reaching 116 for 6 in 15.4 overs against Zimbabwe's total of 114 for 5, with over four overs to spare.
The match came ten days after Harmanpreet Kaur stepped down as captain. Mandhana now leads India's squads for the three T20Is in Raipur and the three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) in Vadodara that follow. Five matches remain after the opener, and the first ODI is on 23 October.
Harmanpreet Kaur Steps Down Across All Formats
Kaur announced on 6 October 2026, in a post on Instagram, that she had stepped down as captain of the Indian women's team across all formats. The International Cricket Council (ICC) also reported the change on its website.
The decision came two weeks after India successfully defended their Asian Games gold medal, beating Sri Lanka in the event, according to Al Jazeera. Indian media reports, cited by Al Jazeera, said Kaur had met Devajit Saikia, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), a day before her decision.
Al Jazeera described Mandhana, then India's deputy, as the favourite to take over the captaincy. Kaur has said she will continue to play, and she is named in both India's T20I and ODI squads for the Zimbabwe series, without a captaincy role.
Mandhana's Record Before Full-Time Captaincy
Mandhana is an opening batter who had been India's deputy before taking over. Accounts differ on when that role began. Al Jazeera dates her time as deputy captain to 2022, while Telangana Today says she served as vice-captain for nearly a decade.
Telangana Today describes the Raipur match as the first time Mandhana has been full-time captain. It reports that she has led India in 18 T20Is, winning 11 and losing six, with her first stint coming seven years ago against England.
The same report says she has scored two T20I centuries and 15 fifties over the past three years, and it gives her a career-best strike rate of 148.25 for 2026. ESPN notes that Mandhana has won two Women's Premier League (WPL) titles before starting her India captaincy tenure.
India Recover From Four Early Wickets to Win in Raipur
Mandhana opted to chase, according to ESPN. Zimbabwe, led by Josephine Nkomo, finished on 114 for 5 in their 20 overs. Sharne Mayers was unbeaten on 43 and Kelis Ndhlovu made 42.
Nyasha Gwanzura took three wickets for 18 runs, and Michelle Mavunga also struck early. India were 19 for 4 (CricTracker and ESPN) or 22 for 4 (Outlook) in the early overs of the chase. Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Anushka Sharma and Harmanpreet Kaur were among the early dismissals.
Deepti Sharma scored 49 off 37 balls, with eight fours, and Niki Prasad, the debutant, was unbeaten on 39 off 35. The pair added 82 runs for the fifth wicket.
Prasad hit the winning boundary as India reached 116 for 6 in 15.4 overs.
Nandni Sharma took two wickets for 11 runs for India. Outlook describes the win as a winning start to Mandhana's tenure as India's full-time T20I captain.
Who Is in the T20I and ODI Squads
The BCCI has named Mandhana as captain of both the T20I and ODI squads. Shafali Verma is vice-captain for the T20Is, and Deepti Sharma is vice-captain for the ODIs.
The T20I squad has 15 players, including Harmanpreet Kaur, Anushka Sharma, Deepti Sharma, Niki Prasad, Nandni Sharma, Sree Charani, Kranti Gaud, Prema Rawat, Arundhati Reddy, Jintimani Kalita and Minnu Mani. Richa Ghosh and G Kamalini are the wicketkeepers.
The ODI squad also has 15 players. Alongside Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma and Harmanpreet Kaur, it includes Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Tejal Hasabnis, Yastika Bhatia, Vaishnavi Sharma, Sayali Satghare and Renuka Thakur.
Zimbabwe's squad is captained by Josephine Nkomo, with Chiedza Dhururu and Modester Mupachikwa as wicketkeepers. Other players named include Nyasha Gwanzura, Michelle Mavunga, Sharne Mayers, Kelis Ndhlovu, Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano, Tendai Makusha, Beloved Biza and Loryn Phiri.
Prasad hit the winning boundary as India reached 116 for 6 in 15.4 overs.
Three T20Is in Raipur, Then Three ODIs in Vadodara
The BCCI's squad announcement gives the T20I window as 16 to 20 October in Raipur and the ODI window as 23 to 28 October in Vadodara. The T20Is are on 16, 18 and 20 October, and the ODIs are on 23, 25 and 28 October.
Venue and start times differ across sources. The BCCI match centre lists the first ODI at BCA Stadium, Vadodara, starting at 8:30 am UTC, which is 2:00 pm in India. ESPN lists the third ODI at Kotambi Stadium, Vadodara, at 14:00 local time. Crictracker names Kotambi Stadium for the ODIs and gives 7:00 pm IST as the start time for all six matches.
The BCCI match centre lists Anna Harris and Gayathri Venugopalan as the on-field umpires for the first ODI, with N Janani as TV umpire and GS Lakshmi as match referee. Star Sports channels will broadcast the series, and JioHotstar will stream it, according to Crictracker.
A First Bilateral Series Between the Two Sides
The series is Zimbabwe's first bilateral series against India, according to Telangana Today. Raipur has also hosted a women's international for the first time.
ESPN's listing for the third ODI names the ICC Women's Championship 2026 alongside the Zimbabwe women's tour of India ODI series. The same page notes that Zimbabwe has yet to win a T20I this year.
India lead the three-match T20I series 1-0 after the opener, according to Outlook. The ODIs are the next stage of the series, with the first on 23 October.
