Harare, July 7: India defeated Zimbabwe in the second T20I of the ongoing five-game series by a huge margin of hundred runs at the Harare Sports Club, here on Sunday. Abhishek Sharma was the highlight of the game with the left-handed opener scoring his maiden century, the third fastest century by an Indian in T20 internationals for the Men in Blue.
Earlier, the visiting side did not get off to a great start with skipper Shubman Gill getting out in the second over of the game when he gave a catch straight to mid-on. The rocky start saw Abhishek take his time reaching the fifty-run mark having taken 33 deliveries to get there. From thereon carnage followed as he scored his next fifty in just 13 balls which included three back to back sixes off Wellington Masakadza’s over which saw him reach hundred before being dismissed on the very next delivery.
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rinku Singh carried on the fire started by Sharma, the duo scored 87 runs in the final six overs and went on to propel India’s score to 234 runs at the end of 20 overs. Innocent Kaia started the second innings with a boundary but received a great reply by Mukesh Kumar who bowled him out on the third ball of the game. Brian Bennett started off well and scored 26 runs off just nine deliveries displaying the attacking intent by the Zimbabwe side but met with the same result as Kaia and was bowled out by Kumar who took his second of the day.
Wickets at regular intervals and the ever rising run rate made it extremely difficult for the Zimbabwe side to get any sort of rhythm in the game. They lost three wickets between the 72 and 76-run mark which sealed the game for the Indian side. Opener Wesley Madhevere was the only bright spot for the team on the day as he scored 43 runs off 39 deliveries before being bowled by Ravi Bishnoi whose excellent bowling saw him being hit for only nine runs in four overs whilst picking two wickets. Once Madhevere’s wicket fell it was only a matter of time before the Indian unit bundled out their opponents with Zimbabwe being bundled out at 134 runs in 18.4 overs.
The five-game series is now tied at 1-1 with the third game scheduled to be played on Wednesday at the Harare Sports Club. Brief score: India 234/2 (20.0) (Abhishek Sharma 100 off 47, Ruturaj Gaikwad 77 off 47; Blessing Muzarabani 30/1 in four overs) Zimbabwe 134/10 (Wesley Madhevere 43 off 39, Brian Bennett 26 off 9; Avesh Khan 15/3 in three overs)
