Raipur: India survived a major scare before debutant Niki Prasad and veteran Deepti Sharma combined to take the hosts to a four-wicket win over Zimbabwe in the first Women's T20 here on Friday.
Opener Kelis Ndhlovu played some crisp strokes in her 44-ball 42 and Sharne Mayers smashed an unbeaten 43 off 33 balls but India still managed to restrict Zimbabwe to 114 for five.
At 19 for four, India were in all sorts of trouble before Niki (39 not out off 35) and Deepti (49 off 37) steadied the ship with an 82-run stand. India eventually got the job done in 15.4 overs.
The Indian batters were guilty of throwing their wickets away with off-spinner Nyasha Gwanzura striking thrice in the powerplay. Mandhana fell on the first ball of the second over offering a sitter to the fielder at square leg.
Anushka Sharma was Gwanzura's second wicket as she tried to force the pace only to be caught at point. The fall of former skipper Harmanpreet Kaur in the third over increased tensions in the dressing room.
Prasad, the U-19 World Cup-winning captain, impressed with her poise and strokeplay in her debut game after India's mini collapse. She deservingly hit the winning runs.
"I think I was well-prepared. I knew that when I walked in, my job was simply to take the game deep and see it through, and that's exactly what I focused on out in the middle.
"Once we (she and Deepti) got going and stabilised the innings, we started discussing which bowlers to target and where we could take calculated risks," said Niki.
Earlier, Ndhlovu's effort stood out, while the other Zimbabwe batters struggled against the home team. Sharne Mayers produced an unbeaten 43 off 33 balls to lift Zimbabwe in the death overs.
India and Zimbabwe are playing a bilateral series for the first time.
Ndhlovu made a timely impact on the big stage with her range of shots. She was quick to cut and pull anything short, besides driving the ball effectively down the ground.
However, the left-handed opener slowed down considerably after taking the visitors to 60 for one in 10 overs. She managed just two runs off her last 12 balls before being bowled by Arundhati Reddy.
Ndhlovu's opening partner, Beloved Biza, perished in the first over after missing a straight delivery from Kranti Gaud.
Ndhlovu and Modester Mupachikwa (16 off 26 balls) then shared a 53-run stand, with the former doing most of the scoring.
Mupachikwa offered a simple catch to spinner Shree Charani in the 11th over to leave Zimbabwe at 60 for two.
Zimbabwe's batters played too many dot balls, indicating that they have a long way to go before they can compete with stronger teams like India.
Mayers struck two sixes and four boundaries late in the innings to add valuable runs to the team's total.
The match also marked the beginning of Smriti Mandhana's captaincy era.