Harare: After their T20 World Cup triumph, India’s first test came in the form of a 5-match T20I series against Zimbabwe. The first match of the series was played at the Harare Sports Club in Harare. India won the toss and decided to bowl first.
The Men in Blue’s last loss against Zimbabwe came in 2016 so almost everyone was expecting an easy win for them, however the match turned out to be entirely different.
The hosts didn’t have a good start as they lost opener, Innocent Kaia on a duck in the second over. Brian Bennett and Wessly Madhevere steadied Zimbabwe’s innings by hitting some boundaries. However, Ravi Bishnoi dismissed Bennett in the sixth over to restrict Zimbabwe to 40/2 in the powerplay.
After the powerplay, things got worse for Zimbabwe as wickets kept tumbling regularly. Cameos from Dion Myers and captain Sikandar Raza took the hosts’ score close to the 100-run mark before Clive Madande’s important knock of 29 carried them to a modest total of 115/9 in 20 overs. Bishnoi was the best bowler for India with his excellent figures of 4/13 and Washington Sundar also chipped in with 2 wickets and gave only 11 runs in his quota of 4 overs.
India had to chase a small target of 116, however things got tricky for them from the start as debutant, Abhishek Sharma lost his wicket in the first over of the innings. Then, IPL stars like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Riyan Parag and Rinku Singh all got dismissed cheaply and that too within the powerplay itself as India was left reeling at 28/4 after 6 overs.
Captain Shubman Gill also wasn’t able to hold on for much longer as he along with Dhruv Jurel got dismissed in back-to-back overs. The likes of Raza, Tendai Chatara and Blessing Muzarabani were all bowling quite well and were taking wicket after wicket. After Gill was dismissed, India was in huge trouble at 47/6 after 10.2 overs and now it was up to the tailenders to see them through. Partnership between Sundar and Avesh Khan was doing well, however Avesh ended up losing his wicket in the 16th over.
Sundar tried all he can to take India home but, in the end, the target of 116 proved to be too much for the Men in Blue as they got bowled out for 102 runs. With this, not only did Zimbabwe complete a victory which their fans will remember for years to come, but they also took the lead in the 5-match T20I series. They will be playing the second match of the series tomorrow at the same venue.
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