Finance
Vice-captain Sanju Samson hit his second T20I fifty with a 45-ball 58, while fast-bowler Mukesh Kumar took his career-best statistics in the format with 4-22 as India defeated Zimbabwe by 42 runs in the fifth and final game at the Harare Sports Club to win the series 4-1.
Samson was at his languid best, hitting a four and four sixes in his innings and sharing a 65-run stand off 56 balls for the fourth wicket with Riyan Parag to help India recover from losing their top three batters in the power play.
Dube’s short cameo of 26, combined with some soaring smashes at the finish from Rinku Singh, propelled India to a competitive 167/6, with 30 runs coming off the last two overs. In response, Mukesh struck twice with the new ball to put Zimbabwe in early trouble.
Dion Myers and Tadiwanashe Marumani kept Zimbabwe in the hunt, but a collapse saw the hosts’ go from 85/3 to 94/7 and be eventually all out for 125 in 18.3 overs, as India got a strong series win after losing the opening match by 13 runs.
Mukesh gave India a brilliant start in their defence of 168 when Wesley Madhevere chopped on to his stumps in the opening over. The pacer came back in the third over to have Brian Bennett flashing hard at outside the off-stump and was caught by third man. He could have got his third wicket if he hadn’t overstepped while castling Myers.
Myers and Marumani hit seven boundaries between themselves to lead Zimbabwe’s fight with a 44-run stand off 36 balls for the third wicket. But Washington Sundar broke the partnership by trapping a sweeping Marumani lbw with a slower delivery in the ninth over.
Myers hit Abhishek Sharma for a four and six to keep Zimbabwe on track, but Dube took him out in the 13th over with a short ball cramping the batter for room and was caught off a leading edge by backward point.
Sikandar Raza was run out in a mix-up with Johnathan Campbell by a direct hit from Dube, who removed the latter in the next over, and Zimbabwe was unable to recover. Abhishek and Tushar Deshpande then grabbed one wicket each, while Mukesh claimed the final two wickets to complete a four-wicket haul in another dominant victory for India.
Earlier, Yashasvi Jaiswal gave India a flying start by hitting Raza for consecutive sixes on the opening two balls of the innings, including one off a no-ball. But Raza responded by getting the ball to come in late and pass Jaiswal’s attempted on-drive, sending the leg-stump for a walk.
Abhishek was fortunate to be dropped by Bennett at cover-point off Blessing Muzarabani, but the pacer bounced back by having the left-handed batter nick behind an angled across delivery to Madande.
Shubman Gill didn’t look much fluent in his stay at the crease, and was dismissed by Richard Ngarava when he tried to top-edged a pull to mid-on. In rebuilding India’s innings, Samson dealt majorly in boundaries – striking three wonderful sixes with his beautiful bat-swing, including a monstrous 110m hit.
Brandon Mavuta gave Zimbabwe the breakthrough when Parag miscued his loft to long-off. But Samson marched forward by smashing boundaries to get his fifty, before pulling straight to deep mid-wicket and fall for 45-ball 58 off Muzarabani.
Dube hit four cracking boundaries in his 12-ball 26 before a miscommunication with Rinku led to his run-out in the final over. Rinku lofted Faraz Akram down the ground for six, as 14 runs came off the final over.
Blessing Muzarabani was Zimbabwe’s best bowler, with 2/19 in four overs, but their fielding, while some brilliant catches, had some lapses – three dropped chances and other fumbles, an issue that affected them throughout the series in addition to their poor batting performances.
Brief Scores: India 167/6 (Sanju Samson 58, Shivam Dube 26; Blessing Muzarabani 2-19, Richard Ngarava 1-29) beat Zimbabwe 125 in 18.3 overs (Dion Myers, Faraz Akram 27; Mukesh Kumar 4-22, Shivam Dube 2-25) by 42 runs
Source:IANS
