Zimbabwe vs. India 2013: 5th ODI - Heroes of the Day

India’s Ravindra Jadeja bats as Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor watches during the final game of the five-match ODI series at Queens Sports Club in Harare on August 3, 2013. (Getty Images)

As expected, India ground Zimbabwe to dust with a fine seven-wicket victory in the fifth and final match of the bilateral ODI series.

Batting first, the home side crumbled to an embarrassing 163 all out, with the only pieces of resistance coming from Sean Williams and Hamilton Masakadza. In reply, the Men in Blue romped home in the 34th over, posting 167/3, to complete a 5-0 rout.

Here are the heroes of the day:

Sean Williams (51 runs off 65 balls – 6 fours; 0/18 in 2 overs)

The 27-year-old left-hander was the only batsman who managed to take the fight to the Indian camp with a solid display, after they were struggling at 45/4. He struck a fluent half-century, holding up one end even as he started running out of partners.

In a desperate bid to accelerate, Williams played a sweep shot that produced a minor top edge and dropped into the hands of a waiting Virat Kohli, thus giving Amit Mishra his fourth wicket; a rather soft dismissal.

He didn’t have too much to boast about while bowling, conceding 18 runs in his two overs. A good knock, but as they say, it was too little, too late.

Amit Mishra (6/48 in 8.5 overs)

The leg-spinner made the series his own with yet another virtuoso bowling performance. Having picked two four-wicket hauls in previous matches, Mishra bamboozled the Zimbabweans with his bag of tricks.

He removed Malcolm Waller with his first ball and then took out Elton Chigumbura, Tinotenda Mutombodzi, Natsai Mushangwe, and the entrenched Williams, before rounding off things with the wicket of Brian Vitori.

Ably supported by the pacers, Mishra’s final tally for the series was 18 wickets – bettering Ajantha Mendis’ record of 17 in five matches at the 2008 Asia Cup. He may just have done enough to force a possible Test recall.

Ajinkya Rahane (50 runs off 66 balls – 4 fours, 1 six)

The Mumbai youngster finally got a game in the series, with India opting to give Rohit Sharma a breather. After Cheteshwar Pujara was castled for a duck, Rahane joined Shikhar Dhawan for a quickfire 55-run stand for the second wicket.

He then added 71 runs with the promoted Ravindra Jadeja, reaching his third ODI fifty, before being bowled by Malcolm Waller.

“Jinks” looked to be back in touch – and should be persisted with in the shorter format at least for a few more games.

Ravindra Jadeja (1/42 in 10 overs; 48 n.o. off 77 balls – 4 fours, 2 sixes)

The Saurashtra all-rounder seems to be enjoying a purple patch of late. He castled Hamilton Masakadza just when the batsman was looking set for a substantial knock, thus reducing Zimbabwe to 45/4.

During the chase, Jadeja was promoted to No.4, and scored the winning runs by belting Waller for a huge six over mid-wicket. With “Sir” around, India never looked like losing the game at all.

Shikhar Dhawan (41 runs off 38 balls – 6 fours, 1 six)

India can always rely on the stylish Delhi opener to provide a solid start at the top. After fellow opener Pujara was dismissed, the southpaw sent the opposition bowlers on a leather hunt, driving, pulling and cutting with gay abandon.

Of the 55 runs he added with Rahane before his dismissal, Dhawan scored 41 – the highlight of his innings being a flick over mid-wicket off Brian Vitori; it ended up into the stands. A fine knock but he ought to have stayed there till the end.