India leveled the T20I series 1-1 and made history by claiming their maiden 10-wicket in the format. Barinder Sran and Jasprit Bumrah were the heroes for India while Mandeep Singh brought up his maiden T20I fifty as well.
Zimbabwe finally got the rub of the green as they won the toss and elected to bat. But soon, they were made to regret their decision as they lost four wickets inside the powerplay. Although Peter Moor tried to steady the ship, wickets were falling around him.
Once he fell to Bumrah, it was a question of whether the hosts could play out their quota of overs. They just about managed to do that but only finished with 99/9 in their overs.
In reply, Indian openers, KL Rahul and Mandeep Singh made light work of the target and in the end it was a question of who could get to their maiden T20I fifty. It was Mandeep who got there with a boundary as India won the game with 41 balls and 10 wickets to spare.
Zimbabwe captain Graeme Cremer blamed the fall of wickets on the reason for the defeat. He sad: "We started well but we lost wickets at regular intervals, just couldn't get going. It was disappointing, we thought the pitch misbehaved a bit but getting all out for 99 isn't good enough. We still have one more game to go. Hoping for the best.”
MS Dhoni admits he was a little worried
India captain MS Dhoni said: “It was a big victory. I think the bowlers started well and personally I was a little worried as we are playing third straight game on the same pitch. I felt there might be something worrying about the pitch that's why I wanted to bat first.
“I emphasized we needed to run hard, push the fielders and in a shorter format it's always important to sneak in those quick runs. Even in Test matches that's the key. The fielders also backed up well as the bowlers did a great job in the initial few overs.”
For picking up the best figures by an Indian bowler on T20I debut, Barinder Sran picked up the Man of the Match award. He said:"I was very happy. There was no pressure, it took a while for me to debut in T20Is but I feel happy with the way I bowled. The ball was swinging a bit and I concentrated on bowling good lines, that's what worked for us today”.
Here is how the cricket fraternity reacted:
Rahul Sharma:
Harsha Bhogle:
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