India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234/2 (20)
Zimbabwe . . . . . . . . . . . 134 (18.4)
India won by 100 runs
INDIA put on champions boots after their shock 13-run defeat against Zimbabwe on Saturday to level the five-match T20I series one-all with a 100-run win over the hosts at Harare Sports Club yesterday.
Never mind their struggles with the bat on Saturday, the visiting captain Shubman Gill chose to bat after winning the toss.
The call was backed up by some explosive batting from centurion Abhishek Sharma, who scored 100 off 47 balls before being caught by Dion Myers off Wellington Masakadza’s bowling in the 14th over.
Zimbabwe had started off the match on the offensive, taking out Gill for a paltry two runs off four balls, caught by Brian Bennett off the bowling off seamer Blessing Muzarabani after 1.2 overs.
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It would have been two wickets down with the centurion yet to find his footing on 28, but a valiant effort from Masakadza coming from the long-on boundary just agonisingly popped out of his hands as he landed on the ground.
Such was the confidence of Masakadza that he had to stop his skipper Sikandar Raza, who was racing from the cow corner boundary as he rightfully called out “mine” only to be let down by his landing.
India, sensing danger, did not want to find themselves in similar situation as they were in on Saturday and they engaged the fourth gear, throwing their arms freely at every delivery.
The visitors’ second and final wicket fell in the 14th over, Abhishek going for a well-played 100 that included seven boundaries and eight maximum.
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rinku Singh took India to a commanding 134/2 in 20 overs unbeaten on 77 from 47 balls and 48 from 22, respectively.
Muzarabani picked one wicket for 30 runs in his four overs, while Masakadza grabbed the other one for 29 runs in two overs.
Zimbabwe, faced with a tall order to chase, lost Innocent Kaia for four runs off the third ball, bowled by Mukesh Kumar.
Wessly Madhevere and Bennett added two more runs from their first match 34-run partnership before Bennett became the next victim, bowled by Kumar for a nine-ball 26.
Myers, golden duck, skipper Raza (4), Jonathan Campbell (10), first match hero Madande (0) and Masakadza (1) summed up Zimbabwe’s struggles with the bat as the local fell to 77/6 after 11.1 overs.
Opener, Madhevere’s resistance eventually came to a halt in the 17th over for a gallant 43 runs off 39 balls as he was bowled out by Ravi Bishnoi.
All-rounder Luke Jongwe turned on the magic before eventually exiting the crease as the Zimbabwe’s last wicket for a 26-ball 33, caught by Gaikwad off Kumar on the fourth ball of the 19th over as the locals were bowled out for 134 runs.
India’s Avesh Khan picked three wickets for 15 runs in three overs, while Kumar claimed the same number for 37 runs in 3.4 overs.
Bishnoi and Washington Sundar picked two and a wicket each.
The third T20I is scheduled for Wednesday at Harare Sports Club.
Chevrons captain Sikandar Raza said he expected a backlash from India, although he thinks Zimbabwe could have given it a better fight.
“The world champions will eventually play like world champions. I thought our fielding was bad, dropping four chances hurt us,” he said.
“I expected 200 on that wicket and it’d get better in the second innings. They got 20 extra. I thought it’d be a close game coming into the chase, but wasn’t to be.
“Our top order not firing. Blessing [Muzarabani] has come in leaps and bounce, he’s very hungry. As long as he stays fit, he will bowl well. We have talked about batting for a while. It’s easier to fix when there is a pattern. We came out firing today, lot of the issues came down to inexpereince.”
India skipper Gill was pleased to see his side bounce back after the surprise result on Saturday.
“Very happy today. Great to be back on the winning note. It was not easy to bat in the powerplay, Abhi and Rutu built the innings brilliantly,” he said.
“Yesterday [Saturday] was more about us not being able to handle pressure. Ours is a young side. Actually, it was good to have pressure in the first game and we knew what to expect today.
“Hopefully, the batters continue to fire in the games coming up. Always good to have more options than to have no options.”
