Harare: The final match of the 5-match T20I series between Zimbabwe and India was played at the Harare Sports Club in Harare. India had already sealed the series with an unassailable 3-1 lead, however both sides wanted to finish the tour on a positive note, so it was still an important match. The hosts won the toss and invited the Men in Blue to bat first.
In the previous match, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal had formed an incredible stand of 156 runs to take India home without even losing any wicket, however this time Zimbabwe got the wicket of Jaiswal in the very first over after the left-handed batsman smashed 2 sixes on the first 3 balls of the match.
Gill and Abhishek Sharma also lost their wickets cheaply and it was down to Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag to steady India’s ship. Both the batsmen played a slow but an effective innings with Samson scoring a half-century and Parag playing a cameo of 22. After Parag lost his wicket in the 15th over, it was the T20 World Cup winner, Shivam Dube who walked in to bat. His quick-fire innings of 26 off just 12 balls took India to a good score of 167/6 in 20 overs.
In reply, Zimbabwe also didn’t have a good start as they lost opener, Wessly Madhevere on the third ball of their innings. Next batsman, Brian Bennett also lost his wicket cheaply in the third over before Tadiwanashe Marumani and Dion Myers formed a decent partnership. Both played decent cameos of 27 and 34 respectively, but after the fall of Myers’ wicket in the 13th over, the hosts went on to lose the rest of their 6 wickets in as many overs and were bowled out for 125 in 18.3 overs.
Mukesh Kumar was the star for India in the bowling department, taking 4 wickets and giving away only 22 runs. Dube also made a good contribution with the ball and took 2 wickets. With this 42-run win, the Men in Blue made it 4 wins in a row and won the 5-match series by 4-1. It was a great display by India’s young guns who impressed yet again.
