Deepti Sharma: I was thinking of building a partnership with Harmanpreet, not the hundred

Deepti Sharma scored an unbeaten 106 off 86 balls for India in the second one-day international against Zimbabwe in Vadodara on Sunday (October 25, 2026), saying she was more focused on building a partnership with Harmanpreet Kaur than on reaching a century.

Deepti ended a nine-year wait for her second ODI hundred; her maiden hundred came in May 2017 against South Africa when she made 188 off 160. The 29-year-old celebrated her second century in the format as India sealed a 121-run victory in Vadodara. She spoke about her belief in hard work and her approach after the innings in the post-match press conference.

Harmanpreet Kaur scored 126 off 121 balls with 15 boundaries and was named player of the match, and she and Deepti put together a 153-run partnership. Deepti remained unbeaten with 15 hits to the fence while supporting Harmanpreet through the middle overs. "She (Harmanpreet) was looking very relaxed and composed. She was playing on merit. And she was looking very good at that time. And when I went in, I thought that we have to build a partnership," Deepti said.

Reflecting on her mindset during the innings, Deepti said: "I believed in my hard work that I would get it sooner or later. And I think more than the 100, what was on my mind was how we can build a partnership in that situation. So that was it," and added, "Because we lost early wickets after Pratika (Rawal) and Harry di's (Harmanpreet Kaur) partnership. That was the mindset and obviously the 100 is special. And it's been a long time since I came here (Vadodara), so it feels good."

On Zimbabwe's challenge and her team's overall display, Deepti declined to label the opposition weak and said: "...I think all the bowlers did a good job. In fact, the whole team gave a good performance."

Deepti also described the mental approach that helped her in the match, saying: "The more you think, the more you can't work. So, whenever I go to the pitch, I play according to the situation. When I went to bat, I didn't think about 100 or 50. I just wanted to play till the last ball and take the team to a good total. This was my mindset." She added: "The biggest thing is that I have a lot of faith in God. I have a lot of faith in Lord Hanuman. What can be a bigger blessing than that for me? And whatever you do in the practice session every day, it definitely helps you in the match. So, this is my mindset."

The last match of the series will be played in Vadodara on October 28. Published - October 26, 2026 11:57 am IST