Zim v Ind 2nd T20I Review: India ease past Zimbabwe to level series

The touring Indians suffered a close defeat in the first of the three T20Is against a free-spirited Zimbabwe team. The opportunity beckoned at Harare yet again as the two sides locked horns for the second T20 of the series. For the Zimbabweans, this was the ideal opportunity to register a historic win. On the other hand, it was a matter of staying alive in the hunt for the men under MS Dhoni.

Zimbabwe were rocked back with the injury of their regular wicket keeper Richmond Mutambami ahead of the game. Having won the toss, Zimbabwe opted to bat first in a bid to replicate their heroics from the previous match. India drafted in Barinder Sran and Dhawal Kulkarni in place of Rishi Dhawan and Jaydev Unadkat in the playing eleven.

Sran made the most of the opportunity and rocked the Zimbabwean top order by removing the openers Hamilton Masakadza (10) and Chamu Chibhabha (10) in quick succession. He backed it up by removing Sikandar Raza (1) and Tinotenda Mutombodzi for a duck to complete his quartet. Sran’s 4/10 saw Zimbabwe 35/4 by the end of the powerplay.

Peter Moor, who came in to bat at number 3, batted cautiously as he was supported by Malcolm Waller (14) for a brief while. Barring him, nobody else gave Moor any company in the middle as the wickets kept tumbling. Elton Chigumbura, the hero of the previous match, was cleaned up by Jasprit Bumrah on just 8. Moor’s resistance ended in the 15th over as he succumbed on 31 off 32 balls and became Bumrah’s second victim.

How did Twitter react to the game? – Twitter Reactions: India thrash Zimbabwe by 10 wickets, level series 1-1

Batsmen continued to disappoint as Zimbabwe ended with a paltry total of 99/9 in their 20 overs. Sran bagged 4 wickets while Bumrah finished with 3/11.

India began their run chase with ease and no Zimbabwe bowler seemed to be causing any major difficulty for them. The openers, Lokesh Rahul and Mandeep Singh, made sure they did not play any rash shots and slowly kept the runs flowing. With 37/0 by the end of the powerplay, the intent was quite clear – to bat through and ease past the score.

The batsmen, however, decided to up the ante despite there being no need for the same. India soon cruised close towards the target and eventually overhauled the target in under 14 overs. It was a thumping win for the Indians as they registered a 10-wicket win. While Lokesh Rahul remained unbeaten on 47 from 40 balls (2 fours, 2 sixes), it was Mandeep Singh, who top scored with an unbeaten 52 off 40 balls (6 fours, 1 six) to seal the game for India.

It was Mandeep Singh’s maiden T20I half century that anchored India easily past the meagre total set by the hosts.

Brief Scores:

Zimbabwe: 99/9 in 20 overs (Peter Moor 31, Waller 14, Sran 4/10, Bumrah 3/11)

India: 103/0 in 13.1 overs (Mandeep Singh 52*, Lokesh Rahul 47*)

Man of the match: Brainder Sran