5 Memorable moments from India’s tour of Zimbabwe

India sent their second string team to Zimbabwe along with the skipper MS Dhoni to give some much-needed rest to the senior players. The series had been a learning curve for the youngsters, where they got the feel of international cricket. The series saw the growth of KL Rahul, as an accomplished limited-overs cricketer, who was earlier considered to be a Test specialist. Barinder Sran and Yuzvendra Chahal also impressed with the ball and Jasprit Bumrah emerged as the leader of the pace attack. Chamu Chibhabha of Zimbabwe showed his all-round capabilities and Neville Madziva had a dream spell when he restricted 8 runs off the last over of the first T20I, with Dhoni on strike. Let’s have a look at the top 5 moments of the India’s tour of Zimbabwe: 1. KL Rahul maiden ton: India’s batsman KL Rahul eyes the ball during the first one-day international (ODI) matches between India and host Zimbabwe. (Photo by JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP/Getty Images) KL Rahul introduced himself to ODIs with 100 not out off 115 balls opening the batting for India while chasing a target of 169 in the first match of the series. It was the first time in history that an Indian batsman had struck a century on debut. He got to his hundred with a six over long-on with only two runs remaining in the chase in the 43rd over. He smashed 7 fours and a six and finished the match with a strike-rate of 86.95. Rahul came into the squad on the back of a good season in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). He completely justified his selection being the leading run-getter in the ODI series. 2. Faiz Fazal’s debut: India batsman Faiz Fazal plays a shot during the third and final One Day. (Photo by JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP/Getty Images) Indian won the first two One-Day International (ODI) matches of the series and the team had decided to give opportunities to some of the new faces and the out of form Karun Nair was replaced by the 30-year-old Faiz Fazal. Thus, Fazal made his international debut in the third ODI against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club. During the course of the match, he was struck by a shot ball from Vusi Sibanda which hit on top of Faiz’s right hand, which was already wrapped with a bandage. For a moment, everyone wondered if this blow would deny him a chance to bat on international debut. But he carried on and opened the innings for India along with KL Rahul. He went on to take his side home with a brilliant 55 not out, chasing down a small target. Fazal became the third Indian cricketer to score 50 or more runs on international debut. 3. Zimbabwe stun India with a win in the 1st T20: Zimbabwe’s bowler Neville Madziva (C) embraces team coach Makhaya Ntini. (Photo by JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP/Getty Images) For the first time in the tour, India’s batting faced some challenges and they failed to live up to the expectations. India lost the run-machine of Indian series, KL Rahul on the first ball of the chase. Middle-order batsman Manish Pandey was aggressive in his 35-ball 58 but wasn’t enough to take India over the line. The equation went all the way down to 7 from the last four balls with the all-rounder Rishi Dhawan and skipper MS Dhoni at the crease. Dhawan failed to connect when it mattered the most and with 4 needed off the last ball, MS Dhoni couldn’t finish it off with Neville Madziva bowling a really good last over. 4. Barinder Sran T20I debut: India players celebrate with bowler Barinder Sran after victory. (Photo by JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP/Getty Images) Barinder Sran, one of the best bowlers of the ODI series hasn’t featured in the first T20I, as India gave an opportunity for Jaydev Unadkat. India went on to lose the match, and Dhoni brought back his main guns, Sran and Dhawal Kulkarni for the second game. Sran, who has been successful in the IPL made a memorable T20I debut where he finished with bowling figures of 4/10. The best bowling figures on T20 international debut. The previous record was by Ajantha Mendis of Sri Lanka of 4/15 against Zimbabwe in 2008. Sran also recorded the best figures by an Indian bowler on T20 International debut, overtaking Pragyan Ojha’s 4/21 against Bangladesh in the 2009 World T20. 5. Nail biting T20 series decider: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni leads his team after victory. (Photo credit should read JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP/Getty Images) Despite the ODI series being one-sided, there was everything to play for in the T20 series. They took a 1-0 lead and when India levelled it in the second game, they restricted the visitors to 138 in the series decider which presented them an opportunity to win the first T20I series against India. Considering the fact that, Zimbabwe had never won a T20I series of more than one match, a win could have taken it into the history. Except the opener Chamu Chibhabha, everyone else contributed in the chase and it went all the way down into the last over of the match with the hosts 21 runs short of the target. The first 2 balls went for 12 runs, but India pulled it off with four needed off the last ball. Chigumbura could only manage enough power and elevation to hit a low, wide full-toss into the hands of the extra cover fielder.

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5 Memorable moments from India’s tour of Zimbabwe

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