India and Zimbabwe women wear black armbands before T20I

India and Zimbabwe women's teams wore black armbands and observed a moment of silence before the first T20I in Raipur on Friday in memory of umpire Sarah Dambanevana, who died in Harare on October 12 at the age of 36. Dambanevana, who represented Zimbabwe as a player before becoming an umpire, had undergone a medical procedure in March this year. Both teams and match officials paid the tribute before the opening match of the three-match series.

India opted to field after winning the toss. The series marks the start of Smriti Mandhana's captaincy tenure. Middle-order batter Niki Prasad made her India debut. The teams are playing a bilateral series for the first time.

India named Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Anushka Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur, Niki Prasad, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, Shree Charani, Arundhati Reddy, Nandani Sharma and Kranti Gaud. Zimbabwe fielded Nyasha Gwanzura, Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano, Kelis Ndhlovu, Beloved Biza, Josephine Nkomo, Modester Mupachikwa, Michelle Mavunga, Francisca Chipare, Olinder Chare, Tendai Makusha and Sharne Mayers.