In a remarkable game of T20 cricket, Zimbabwe recorded a 2 run win over India that will stay etched in the memory of their fans for a long time. Incredible scenes ensued as Madziva uprooted a stump, ran to his fans, who were already having a party in the stands and let emotion take over. After a forgettable ODI series, this was an inspired performance from the Zimbabwe team.
Having won the toss, Mahendra Singh Dhoni elected to bowl. Soon though, he was left to ponder as to whether that was the right decision as Hamilton Masakadza got off to a blistering start, smashing 25 off 15 before scooping one upto Dhoni, behind the stumps. In the middle of the innings, Sikandar Raza and Malcolm Waller stitched together a good 47 run partnership. It was Elton Chigumbura who made the difference though, a special 26 ball 54 towards the fag end of the innings powered his team to 170.
Defending the total, Zimbabwe got off to a dream start, dismissing KL Rahul on the very first ball of the innings. His opening partner, Mandeep Singh produced a few great looking shots as he got to 31. Manish Pandey started slowly, at one stage being 20 off 20 deliveries, before taking off and accelarating at the right stage. He lost his wicket cheaply though, falling 2 runs short of his first International Twenty 20 fifty. Axar Patel came in and smashed the ball all over the park, with a cameo of 18 runs.
The job was nearly done as India needed a mere 8 runs off the last over to record a win. Neville Madziva was trusted with the ball in the final over, and he produced a special over, conceding a mere 5 runs to clinch the match for his team.
‘IT’S MY WIFE’S BIRTHDAY, I DEDICATE THIS TO HER’
The man of the match was awarded to Elton Chigumbura for his special innings. He said, "It was a good effort from the whole team, everyone contributed. The last over Neville bowled was exceptional. It's my wife's birthday today, I dedicate this to her. This game gave us the confidence to do it again, and we are looking forward to it."
Indian captain MS Dhoni said, “It's a contest between ball and bat, the last ball was special and we lost the game. If you see the wickets we conceded, they weren't full fledged shots, almost catching practice, this is the stage where you have to gain the experience and I'm glad the boys are learning, playing these games. I don't think we need to think a lot, the fast bowlers will come back for the next game, credit to their batsmen, we need to work on our length."
Winning captain Graeme Cremer said, "Excellent comeback after the losses in the ODI series. There are 2 games to go, we are not going to stop here. We knew Elton coming in can always be dangerous, and today was a special innings. Today could have gone either way, we are fortunate it came our way."
Zimbabwe’s hero Madziva on whether he could defend 8 runs in the final over: "I told myself I am going to do it"
Here are the reactions from the cricket fraternity:
Damien Martyn:
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