Shubman Gill’s Team India registered the fourth win on the trot against Zimbabwe, clinching the 5-match T20I series 4-1 on Sunday in Harare. Sanju Samson’s second T20I fifty followed by Shivam Dube’s blazing cameo powered India to 167/7 after being asked to bat first. In reply, the hosts were bundled out for 125 in 18.5 overs and lost the game by 42 runs.
Mukesh Kumar was the pick of the Indian bowlers, returning his career-best figures of 4/22 in 3.3 overs while Dube (2/25) chipped in as well with a couple of crucial wickets to derail Zimbabwe’s chase.
The hosts needed a strong start but faltered early, losing two quick wickets within the first three overs. Tadiwanashe Marumani and Dion Myers weathered a couple of challenging overs and then targeted the spinners effectively, showcasing a solid counterattack to reach 47/2 by the end of the powerplay, shifting the momentum back into balance.
The duo forged a 44-run partnership before it was broken by Washington Sundar. Myers continued scoring briskly but his dismissal turned things south for Zimbabwe as they lost three more wickets in quick succession.
The final nail in their hope was the run out of skipper Sikandar Raza (8), which came in a cartwheel of four wickets for nine runs. Faraz Akram managed to hit a few impressive boundaries, but it was too late for the hosts to make a comeback, ultimately falling short by 42 runs.
Earlier, Samson and Riyan Parag added 65 runs for the fourth wicket as India recovered from a middling Power Play in which they scored 44 for three. Yashasvi Jaiswal, who made an unbeaten 93 in the fourth T20I, started the proceedings with two sixes in the first two balls of the innings bowled by Raza.
But in the fourth ball of the same over, Jaiswal played the wrong line to get bowled. Abhishek, dropped on 10 by Bennett off Blessing Muzarabani, did not last long, edging the pacer two balls later to Clive Madande behind the wicket. Skipper Shubman Gill, who received a reprieve on 11, was never in his fluent self and smashed left-arm seamer Ngarava straight into the hands of Raza in the deep.
At 44 for three, India needed a partnership to steady the innings. Samson and Parag provided just that. Their alliance was all about prudence rather than theatrics, choosing the correct delivery to punish. However, Samson showed his aggressive side when the opportunity presented itself.
Samson brought up his fifty in 39 balls, his second in T20Is, but Parag departed as India were looking for some late acceleration. The right-hander perished to Mavuto while looking to clear the fence, and Samson too could not carry on till the end of the innings.
However, the tourists found some late steam through Dube’s fireworks.
(With PTI Inputs)
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