Kranti Gaud removes Beloved Biza as India claim early wicket in Raipur 1st T20I

Kranti Gaud dismissed Beloved Biza to give India an early breakthrough in the first T20I against Zimbabwe in Raipur on October 16, 2026, reducing the visitors to 7/1.

A minute of silence was observed for the late Sara Dambanevana before the match, followed by the national anthems for Zimbabwe and India with players lined up in the middle. The India side completed a pre-match huddle and Kranti Gaud took the new ball, while Zimbabwe opened with Kelis Ndhlovu and Beloved Biza. Pitch assessors Ed Rainsford and Mithali Raj described the Raipur surface as good for batting, noting the longest boundary at 71 metres and the shortest at 51 metres; Mithali said the pitch was well rolled with a few cracks and expected limited assistance for spin and little dew.

Kranti Gaud began with a good-length delivery that allowed Kelis Ndhlovu to guide a single to backward point. She then bowled a full delivery to Beloved Biza, angling in; Biza missed a clip across the line and was struck on the pads, with the umpire raising the finger for LBW. Modester Mupachikwa walked in at number three after that dismissal.

Deepti Sharma bowled several overs in the powerplay, during which an overthrow produced four runs after Smriti Mandhana's attempt to run out a batter and Shafali Verma's backup let the ball through her legs. Zimbabwe reached 34/1 at the end of the powerplay.

Kranti Gaud drilled in another spell that saw Kelis Ndhlovu find the boundary multiple times, including a sequence where a driven ball forced an angled stop from Anushka Sharma; her subsequent shy at the striker's end missed and Richa Ghosh could not prevent the ball running to the fence for four. The over also included a wide bouncer conceded by Gaud.

Nandani Sharma provided a change of pace from the other end, executing a yorker and a fuller slower ball; Modester Mupachikwa produced an outside edge that went on the bounce to the shortish third man area. Nandani also drew a ball that nipped back and struck Kelis Ndhlovu on the pads during her spell.

Zimbabwe named Kelis Ndhlovu, Beloved Biza, Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano, Sharne Mayers, Michelle Mavunga, Nyasha Gwanzura, Francisca Chipare, Modester Mupachikwa (WK), Josephine Nkomo (C), Olinder Chare and Tendai Makusha as their playing XI for the match, which served as the opening T20I of the series.