Zimbabwe Vs India: The Host’s Remarkable Victory Over India.
While Indians are still celebrating their T20 World Cup victory, Zimbabwe has given them a reason to pause. The second-string Indian cricket team, which has traveled to Zimbabwe, failed to deliver in the first match at Harare. Sikandar Raza’s side stunned everyone by defending a mere 115 against a strong-looking Indian batting order. This is the lowest total ever defended against India in T20 Internationals. The previous record was held by New Zealand, who defeated India in 2016 while defending 126 at Nagpur.
Zimbabwe Vs India: Bowler’s Dominance
In Harare, Shubman Gill, leading India for the first time, won the toss and opted to bowl first. India had three debutants in their lineup: Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag, and Dhruv Jurel, all making their T20 debut for India. The Indian bowlers were on target from the start, with Mukesh Kumar picking up the wicket of Innocent Kaia on the first ball of his spell. After the first wicket, Madhevere and Brian Bennett played well and scored 40 in 5 overs.
In the 6th over, Gill introduced Bishnoi, who also took a wicket on the first ball of his spell. After his introduction, all the Zimbabwean batters struggled. Wickets kept falling, reducing Zimbabwe to 90/9 in the 16th over. They looked like they would be bowled out for under 100. But wicketkeeper-batsman Clive Madande took charge and, with the help of Chatara, brought the total to 115. Both batsmen remained not out as Zimbabwe posted 115. Ravi Bishnoi achieved his career-best figures of 4-13, while Sundar took 2/11.
While chasing 116, the Indian team and their supporters must have felt confident. However, the Zimbabwe bowlers were up to the task, and skipper Sikandar Raza had his plans ready. He introduced off-spinner Brian Bennett against debutant Abhishek Sharma, who dismissed Sharma for a duck. Muzarabani dismissed Gaikwad in the 4th over, and Chatara dismissed Parag and Rinku in the 5th over, leaving India struggling at 22-4 after 5 overs.
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Indian batters collapse
Debutant Jurel joined skipper Gill, and both batted patiently. Jurel lost his wicket in the 10th over after scoring just 7. Gill was the only obstacle left in Zimbabwe’s path to victory. Raza removed him in the very next over. This reduced India to 47-6 in the 11th over. India needed 68 runs from 9 overs. Washington Sundar was the only recognized batter at the crease. Sundar, along with the tailenders, took the game to the final over. India fell short by 13 runs. Sundar scored a handy 27 but could not overtake his team. Skipper Raza and Chatara both took 3 wickets each. This secured a historic win for their team. Sikandar Raza was declared the Player of the Match. He took 3 wickets and scored 17 runs.
Both teams meet again on 7th July for the 2nd game of the 5-match series.
