Jintimani Kalita made her One-Day International debut as India women took the field at the BCA Stadium in Kotambi, Vadodara on Friday, 23 October, with Zimbabwe women winning the toss and electing to bat first in the opening match of a three-match ODI series. The contest comes on the back of India's commanding 3-0 T20I series sweep against the same opponents.

Zimbabwe Without Regular Captain

Zimbabwe will be without their skipper, Josephine Nkomo, who is sidelined with a niggle. Nomvelo Sibanda has been named stand-in captain for the match. Sibanda, after calling the toss correctly, said her side would look to impose themselves with the bat. 'We want to put runs on the board, put scoreboard pressure. We want our batters to dominate. Our regular captain Nkomo is out with a niggle. We want to carry on from the positives into this series as well,' she said at the toss.

Kalita's Debut and India's Lineup Changes

India captain Smriti Mandhana confirmed there have been several changes to the playing eleven compared to the T20I squad. The most notable addition is all-rounder Jintimani Kalita, who replaces Renuka Singh in the squad and earns her debut on the back of a strong India A series. 'We have a debut: Jintimani. Exciting player, she had a good India A series, and we have a couple of changes from the T20I side for sure,' Mandhana said after the toss.

Mandhana on Conditions and Format Transition

Mandhana noted that her side had also preferred to bat first given the overhead conditions, but expressed confidence in chasing. 'We were looking to bat first as well; overhead conditions are good to bat, but it's a good thing we will know what to chase,' she said. The India captain also acknowledged the adjustment required in transitioning from the Twenty20 format to 50-over cricket. 'Balancing T20Is and ODIs... this format, we all know that we've done well in the past. It will take some time for us to adapt, but everyone in the net session practised that,' Mandhana added. She noted that while the team had played on black soil at the same venue during the Women's Premier League (WPL), the red-soil pitch is more familiar territory for Baroda conditions.

Playing XIs

Zimbabwe Women: Beloved Biza, Sharne Mayers, Nyasha Gwanzura, Modester Mupachikwa (wk), Chiedza Dhururu, Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano, Michelle Mavunga, Nomvelo Sibanda (c), Tendai Makusha, Loryn Phiri, and Olinder Chare.

India Women: Smriti Mandhana (c), Shafali Verma, Pratika Rawal, Harmanpreet Kaur, Tejal Hasabnis, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Shree Charani, Kranti Gaud, Sayali Satghare, Jintimani Kalita.

With India riding high on T20I momentum and a debutant eager to make her mark, all eyes will be on how the Mandhana-led side adapts to the longer format against a Zimbabwe side determined to make a statement despite the absence of their captain.