The United States of America (USA) witnessed history in a gripping three-match T20I series that saw Zimbabwe locking horns with the home team. Spanning over a period of four action packed days, Zimbabwe emerged victorious by clinching a 2-1 series win against team USA. The series was marked by thrilling individual performances and momentum shifts, but it was the visitors who held their nerves in crunch moments to seal a memorable triumph and an elusive trophy on foreign shores.
Clinical Zimbabwe outclasses the United States in Women’s T20I series opener
The curtain raiser match of the three-match series in Dallas saw USA winning the toss and elected to bowl first. The bowlers proved her captain’s decision right and were successful in making in-roads on a conducive wicket. Zimbabwe’s top order faltered under pressure, with both openers being dismissed on single-digit scores, handing the momentum in huge favour of the hosts. To sail the ship in turbulence, skipper Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano tried to anchor the innings with a cautious 15 off 21 balls.
Loreen Tshuma injected some fluency with an innings of 38 off 27, but her dismissal left Zimbabwe rattled at 66 for 4. The visitors were in urge of a healthy and stable partnership, thanks to a gritty 51-run stand between Beloved Biza (33 off 34) and Josephine Nkomo (22* off 22), allowing them to breach the 100-run mark and post a competitive total of 124/7. USA’s right-arm medium pacer Geetika Kodali was the standout bowler, posing with impressive figures of 3 for 25 from her quota of 4 overs.
In reply, USA got off to a steady start, with openers Disha Dhingra (16 off 30) and Chetna Pagydyala (25 off 30) stitching together a 40-run partnership. However, Zimbabwe, who were in desperate need for early breakthroughs, took consecutive wickets. From a comfortable position of 50/2 at 10.5 overs, the hosts skipped to 60/6 by the 14.1 over mark, as their middle order failed horrendously against a formidable bowling attack – under pressure.
Beloved Biza, Player of the Match, backed up her batting heroics by picking up 3 wickets for 28 runs in her four-over spell. USA were not bowled out but eventually managed to crawl to a total of 96/6 in their 20 overs, falling short by 28 runs. With a total match aggregate of only 220 runs, it became the lowest-scoring T20I contest between these two sides — a stat that underlined the tightly contested nature of the game.
Zimbabwe wins the thriller by a run to secure the series win with a game to follow
In the second game of the three-match series, USA Women once again opted to bowl first after winning the toss, but Zimbabwe’s batters came with their plans set to counterpunch the opposition. Unlike the 1st T20I, the Zimbabwean batters put together a polished batting performance.
Captain Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano took the onus with a brisk 40 off 34 balls, setting the platform for a fighting total. From the other end, she found valuable support from Loreen Tshuma, who played a match-winning knock of 46 off 37 balls. Despite a couple of setbacks — including the early run out of Beloved Biza for just 1 — Zimbabwe managed to close out their innings at 136/5. Geetika Kodali and Jivana Aras were the pick of the bowlers for USA, claiming two wickets each.
Chasing 137 for victory, USA Women found a reliable anchor in Disha Dhingra, who produced a valiant 57 off 45 balls. However, the lack of support from the other end once again haunted the hosts. Wicketkeeper Pooja Ganesh contributed a steady 26 off 26 balls, but it was Dhingra who kept the scoreboard ticking until her dismissal in the 14th over — taken by Beloved Biza — turned the tide of the game.
That breakthrough opened the floodgates, with Zimbabwe tightening the screws in the death overs. Despite late resistance from Ritu Singh (15 off 13) and Gargi Bhogle (11* off 6), USA fell agonizingly short, finishing at 135 and handing Zimbabwe a thrilling 1-run win. Loreen Tshuma was named Player of the Match for her all-important innings that proved to be the difference.
The United States Women Avoid Whitewash with a Thrilling win in 3rd T20I
With the series already decided, the third T20I in Dallas was a dead rubber—but USA Women played for pride and delivered a nail-biting finish. Winning the toss for the third consecutive time, the USA skipper elected to bowl first, yet again. Zimbabwe had a solid start, with openers Modester Mupachikwa and Kelis Ndhlovu stitching together a 63-run partnership in 10 overs- pushing the hosts on backfoot. Ndhlovu was unfortunate to miss her half-century by just one run, falling for 49.
Till this stage, the game was in favour of Zimbabwe, until the floodgates opened. None of the batters, except the opening pair, managed to reach double digits as USA’s bowlers rampaged and steamrolled the opposition. Though every bowler bowled with discipline and uniformity, Isani Vaghela and Chetnaa Prasad were standout performers, claiming three wickets apiece to restrict Zimbabwe to a modest 110/8 in their 20 overs.
In response, Zimbabwe struck early with the key wicket of Disha Dhingra for just 4, raising hopes of a potential clean sweep. But USA showed greater depth in their batting this time around. The foundation was set by a run-a-ball 25 by Chetna Pagydyala, while Isani Vaghela chipped in with a useful 17 off 18 balls. The real difference-maker was Gargi Bhogle, who, though kept losing support in form of partners from the other end, kept her composure under pressure to score a match-winning 34 off 27 balls.
The chase went down to the last ball of the innings, with USA finally bagging a consolation victory by three wickets. Despite the win in the last game, Zimbabwe posed as the winners, with the scoreline of 2-1 in their favour. The highest run-scorer of the series was Zimbabwe’s Loreen Tshuma, while USA’s Geetika Kodali emerged as the leading wicket-taker.
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