T20 World Cup 2022, Match 42: India vs Zimbabwe- Talking points and Who Said What?

India and Zimbabwe locked horns in the final game of the T20 World Cup 2022 Super 12 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). India had already qualified for the semi-final but their opposition would have been decided only after the results of the Zimbabwe game. After losing some early wickets, Suryakumar Yadav’s brilliance helped India post a big total before the bowlers sealed a win for the Men in Blue to confirm a semi-final date against England.

Before listening to skippers of both sides, we list some of the talking points from the game

KL Rahul gets in the groove

KL Rahul continued his good form from the previous game and notched up his second consecutive half-century of the tournament. After losing his opening partner Rohit Sharma early in the game, he managed to get the game going and hit some brilliant shots to get to a half-century, thereby peaking at the right stage of the tournament.

SKY is the limit

The leading run-scorer in T20Is this year, Suryakumar Yadav stepped up to India’s rescue, again. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Rishabh Pant gave away their wickets very early into their innings, but Yadav was at his best, like always. He racked up an unbeaten 25-ball 61* and helped the Men in Blue finish at 186/5.

Zimbabwe all-rounders shine

After losing crucial wickets on the trot, Zimbabwean middle-order batters Sikandar Raza and Ryan Burl showcased good potential as they attempted to get the game back on track in their favour. They shared a composed 60-run stand for the sixth wicket. The two had been brilliant with the ball and on the field in the first innings too.

Ashwin spins Magic

Ravichandran Ashwin was the standout bowler for India. He picked up three wickets in his four overs spell while giving away just 22 runs, maintaining an economy of 5.50. He was surely the pick of the bowlers, but every other Indian bowler managed to pick at least one wicket. While Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya ended with two wickets each, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel added one wicket each under their belt as India dished Zimbabwe out for 115 runs.

Losing captain, Craig Ervine said:

We could have changed a couple of plans, Surya did extremely well in the back end and countered Richie's wide yorkers. He came out and changed the game. Leading into the tournament, we had some positiveness with the bat. Last couple of games, we went away from that fearless cricket and we went into a shell. If you just stand there and swing, there's a good chance that you're gonna get out. You need to be more proactive. Our last few results didn't go as planned. We did good work to get into the Super 12s. We'll be building on that. The boys fought really hard throughout the World Cup.

Winning captain, Rohit Sharma said:

It was a good all-round performance, something that we were looking for. Before the game, we were qualified but was important to come out and play the way we wanted to play. (On SKY) What he's doing for the team is remarkable. Playing and taking pressure off others - it's quite important. We know his ability and it allows the other guys to take some time as well. The confidence he shows when he bats, the dug-out can be at ease. He's shown a lot of composure. This is something we expect from him. He's going from strength to strength. (On semifinal vs England) The key for us will be to adjust to the conditions as quickly as possible. We've played a game there but England will be a good challenge for us. Two teams going at each other, it'll be a great contest. We need to understand what each individual needs to do. It's going to be a high pressure game. We need to play well. If we do play well, we have a good game ahead as well. You need to adjust quickly and plan accordingly.

Player of the Match, Suryakumar Yadav said:

I think the plan was very clear when me and Hardik were batting together. He said we should take a positive route and we started hitting the ball and never stopped. I think the atmosphere in the team is really nice and so is the build-up towards the knockout, really looking forward to that game. My plan has always been clear, I do the same thing in the nets, I practise the same shots. I bat according to the situation and what the team needs. It feels really good, to be there (number 1 ranked T20I batter). You got to start from zero everytime, that's what I think. It's good to see people come out, let's see how it goes in the next game.