I couldn't believe it that we're going to get that close: Timycen Maruma

India beat Zimbabwe in the 3rd and T20 international of the series to clinch the series 2-1. India won by a narrow margin of 3 runs in the nail-biting last ball finish. Timycen Maruma, who hit a six in the final over said that he couldn’t believe that Zimbabwe is getting that close of pulling off a series win.

“At first, I couldn’t believe it that we’re going to get that close,” Maruma said, in the post-match press conference. With 27 needed off the last 7 balls, Maruma hit six of Jasprit Bumrah, one of the finest bowlers of the series. Still, 21 from the last over was a mountain to climb for the hosts, given Barinder Sran, who had conceded just 14 runs in his first 3 overs was to ball the final over.

He said that Elton Chigumbura, who was at the non-striker’s end, gave him the confidence. “One of the senior guys, Elton, was pushing me – you can do it, you can do it. That’s when I got the belief in myself. The moment I hit that six, I got the belief that we can do it,”

He started off the over well with a six off the first ball to put Sran under pressure. The left-arm pacer then bowled a wide and then he attempted a slower ball which became a waist-high no ball and got dispatched for a four and thus the equation went down from 21 off 6 to 9 from 4. Sran then came back well with two wide yorkers and he missed both of them. “Unfortunately, the two balls that I missed, that’s where we lost the game. Otherwise, it was a good challenge,” Maruma summed up.

Also read: Zimbabwe v India T20I series: India Player Ratings

Chigumbura was on strike with 8 needed off 2. He collected 4 runs as the ball hit the toe end of the bat and went to the third man fence but he couldn’t dispatch the final ball away. “It’s disappointing to lose the game that close, (but) I thought the guys showed good fight today. It’s always hard to get 20 runs in the last over but I thought Timycen showed good courage,” Chigumbura said.