Zimbabwe Elect to Bat in Third ODI Against India

Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat first against India in the third women’s ODI in Vadodara on October 28, with India already assured of the three-match series after winning the first two games. The scheduled finale began at 2 p.m. IST at BCA Stadium in Kotambi, Vadodara. Zimbabwe captain Josephine Nkomo chose to bat after winning the toss. She said the pitch looked good for batting and suggested a total of 250 to 260 could challenge India. Zimbabwe made one change to its lineup, bringing in Francisca Chipare, Nkomo said. India captain Smriti Mandhana said her side made three changes: Kranti Gaud, Harleen Deol and Yastika Bhatia entered the playing XI. Mandhana said India had considered fielding three pace bowlers with upcoming matches against South Africa and the Champions Trophy in mind, citing the prospect of night games and dew. The announced Indian XI also included Pratika Rawal, Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti Sharma, Sayali Satghare, Jintimani Kalita and Vaishnavi Sharma. India had clinched the series with wins in the first two ODIs. It won the opener by nine wickets, then beat Zimbabwe by 121 runs in the second match. The series result was...