India claimed a comprehensive 90-run victory over Zimbabwe in Harare on Saturday, July 25, to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the ongoing three-match series. With the dominant performance, the Men in Blue sealed their first series victory under Shreyas Iyer's captaincy.
Zimbabwe won the toss and opted to field first. India lost both their openers, Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Suryavanshi, in the powerplay. Ishan Kishan bailed the side out of trouble by slamming his 12th T20I half-century.
The wicketkeeper-batter missed out on a well-deserved ton, departing after a well-made 81 off 44 balls. Vice-captain Tilak Varma helped India finish on a high with his unbeaten 60 from 29 balls. The visitors posted 219/5 after 20 overs.
Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Brad Evans, Newman Nyamhuri, and Brian Bennett took one wicket each. Zimbabwe failed to put up a strong fight in the chase and were bundled out for just 129 in 17.5 overs.
Opener Brian Bennett (32 off 19) and wicketkeeper Tadiwanashe Marumani (24 off 19) were the top performers with the bat for the hosts. Abhishek Sharma picked up three wickets, while Prince Yadav and debutant Yash Thakur bagged two scalps each.
On that note, let's look at three moments from the contest that generated a buzz among fans.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi targeted Richard Ngarava in the series opener. He went after the left-arm seamer in the second fixture as well. The fast bowler was introduced into the attack in the third over.
The 15-year-old upped the ante by smashing three fours and a six to put Ngarava under pressure. Watch the video here:
Suryavanshi tried to finish the over strongly and charged down the track on the final ball. However, he miscued the pull off the short delivery and was caught at long-on. Ngarava conceded 19 runs from the over but enjoyed the last laugh in the battle with the Indian youngster, ending the opener's nine-ball 20-run cameo.
Tilak Varma started cautiously and was on nine off eight balls before he changed gears in the 14th over. He got the better of Zimbabwe's pace spearhead Blessing Muzarabani, slamming a hat-trick of fours in the over.
The three consecutive fours featured an innovative shot. The southpaw walked across his stumps on the third ball, looking to play the scoop. It seemed like he wanted to go over short fine-leg. However, the ball ultimately went towards the left of the wicketkeeper and raced away to the third man fence.
Watch the video here:
Indian wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan missed out on a run-out chance in the 15th over of Zimbabwe's run chase. Tadiwanashe Marumani placed Ravi Bishnoi's delivery towards backward point on the fifth ball.
The batters completed a single, and Newman Nyamhuri charged for a second, only to be sent back by Marumani. The two batters ended up near the non-striker's end when the throw came to Kishan, who had ample time to whip the bails off.
However, he went with an underarm throw and missed the stumps. Watch the hilarious blunder here:
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