Ace India all-rounder Deepti Sharma on Sunday, October 25, became the first woman cricketer from the country to score an ODI hundred while batting at No. 6 or lower, as she went past Richa Ghosh’s record score of 94 against South Africa at Visakhapatnam in 2025.
Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti stitched together a 153-run stand, with the latter scoring off 86 balls, as the two India veterans propelled the team to a formidable total in the second ODI against Zimbabwe.
This marks the first bilateral series between India and Zimbabwe, giving the visitors a valuable chance to learn from one of the top teams in women’s cricket.
Deepti also registered the fifth-quickest ODI hundred for an Indian woman, in terms of deliveries faced, behind Harmanpreet’s 82-ball
century against England last year.
Quickest ODI 100s for India Women (by balls)
50: Smriti Mandhana vs Australia, Delhi 2025
70: Smriti Mandhana vs Ireland, Rajkot, 2025
77 – Smriti Mandhana vs Australia, Mullanpur, 2025
82 – Harmanpreet Kaur vs England, Chester-le-Street, 2025
83 – Deepti Sharma vs Zimbabwe, Vadodara
Harmanpreet and Deepti’s 153-run stand is India women’s highest for the fifth wicket or lower in ODIs, going past the previous record of 122 runs set by Sneh Rana and Pooja Vastrakar against Pakistan at the 2022 Women’s World Cup.
Meanwhile, India didn’t have the best of starts as Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma fell cheaply. Newly-appointed skipper Mandhana mistimed a pull in the first over of the match before Shafali was caught at mid-wicket, giving Nomvelo Sibanda her second wicket.
Pratika Rawal (61 off 67) and Harmanpreet forged a 124-run stand to take the innings forward. The prolific Indian opener was caught at deep mid-wicket in the 23rd over. Tejal Hasanbis too couldn’t execute the slog sweep.
Harmanpreet then owned the stage with her perfectly paced innings. She had luck on her side as well, having been dropped thrice. It was her eighth ODI century and she seems to be enjoying life without the extra responsibility of leading the team.
