#Harare : After suffering an unexpected two-run loss in the first match, MS Dhoni and Co will look to return back to winning ways when they take on a high-on-confidence Zimbabwe side in the second Twenty20 of the three-match series in Harare on Monday.After completely outplaying the hosts in the ODIs, India were expected to clinch another whitewash but the Graeme Cremer-led team came out strongly in the shortest format to register a historic win.
Zimbabwe openers Hamilton Masakadza and Chamu Chibhabha gave the hosts a strong start before Elton Chigumbura’s unbeaten 26-ball 54 took Zimbabwe to 170 for 6 in 20 overs. The hosts scored more runs in the T20 match than they did in any of the ODIs of the three-match series. In reply, India lost KL Rahul on the first ball of the innings and were struggling against the Zimbabwe bowlers before Manish Pandey’s 48-run knock helped them get back on track.
Pandey had a crucial stand with Dhoni but India lost him at the wrong time. But with Dhoni at crease, 28 off 16 balls was not a tough task. The bowlers did a good job to take the match to the last over and then Neville Madziva bowled a brilliant last over to trump Dhoni and stun the Indian supporters. Chasing 171 was never easy but India looked complacent in reply and the sense of urgency was missing.
Indian bowlers also had a poor outing and they leaked way too many runs. Jaydev Unadkat gave away 43 runs in four overs without taking a wicket while Rishi Dhawan’s gave 42 in his quota of overs taking one wicket. Jasprit Bumrah was economical and took two wickets but he didn’t get much help from other pacers. Yuzvendra Chahal, who was impressive in the ODIs was targeted by Zimbabwe batsmen for big shots while Axar Patel bowled smartly, giving away just 18 runs in 4 overs and took a wicket.
Indian bowlers were hit all around the park in last five overs by Chigumbura and it would be interesting to see if Dhawan and Unadkat get another game during this series. Barinder Sran and Dhawal Kulkarni were brilliant in the ODIs and Dhoni may include the duo in the second T20.
For Zimbabwe, Chigumbura and Madziva were the star players but the openers did a good job to give them a solid start. The fielding was also much better and the African nation played like a unit after a long time. Zimbabwe had failed to qualify for the Super 10 of World Twenty20 and had lost a T20 series to Afghanistan earlier this year. This win will boost their confidence and they will try repeat that performance on Monday.
Cremer is most likely to go in with an unchanged side. Zimbabwe’s batting was substandard in the ODIs but in the first T20 they batted sensibly. The top order got back to form and Malcolm Waller and Sikandar Raza made useful contributions in the middle order. Chigumbura hit six 6s off Indian bowlers to show that the contest in the shortest format will be much closer than the ODIs.
Zimbabwe will be eyeing a historic series win but they can’t expect India to take take them lightly this time they will have to be at their best if they want to stage another upset at the Harare Sports Club.
Zimbabwe openers Hamilton Masakadza and Chamu Chibhabha gave the hosts a strong start before Elton Chigumbura’s unbeaten 26-ball 54 took Zimbabwe to 170 for 6 in 20 overs. The hosts scored more runs in the T20 match than they did in any of the ODIs of the three-match series. In reply, India lost KL Rahul on the first ball of the innings and were struggling against the Zimbabwe bowlers before Manish Pandey’s 48-run knock helped them get back on track.
Pandey had a crucial stand with Dhoni but India lost him at the wrong time. But with Dhoni at crease, 28 off 16 balls was not a tough task. The bowlers did a good job to take the match to the last over and then Neville Madziva bowled a brilliant last over to trump Dhoni and stun the Indian supporters. Chasing 171 was never easy but India looked complacent in reply and the sense of urgency was missing.
Indian bowlers also had a poor outing and they leaked way too many runs. Jaydev Unadkat gave away 43 runs in four overs without taking a wicket while Rishi Dhawan’s gave 42 in his quota of overs taking one wicket. Jasprit Bumrah was economical and took two wickets but he didn’t get much help from other pacers. Yuzvendra Chahal, who was impressive in the ODIs was targeted by Zimbabwe batsmen for big shots while Axar Patel bowled smartly, giving away just 18 runs in 4 overs and took a wicket.
Indian bowlers were hit all around the park in last five overs by Chigumbura and it would be interesting to see if Dhawan and Unadkat get another game during this series. Barinder Sran and Dhawal Kulkarni were brilliant in the ODIs and Dhoni may include the duo in the second T20.
For Zimbabwe, Chigumbura and Madziva were the star players but the openers did a good job to give them a solid start. The fielding was also much better and the African nation played like a unit after a long time. Zimbabwe had failed to qualify for the Super 10 of World Twenty20 and had lost a T20 series to Afghanistan earlier this year. This win will boost their confidence and they will try repeat that performance on Monday.
Cremer is most likely to go in with an unchanged side. Zimbabwe’s batting was substandard in the ODIs but in the first T20 they batted sensibly. The top order got back to form and Malcolm Waller and Sikandar Raza made useful contributions in the middle order. Chigumbura hit six 6s off Indian bowlers to show that the contest in the shortest format will be much closer than the ODIs.
Zimbabwe will be eyeing a historic series win but they can’t expect India to take take them lightly this time they will have to be at their best if they want to stage another upset at the Harare Sports Club.
Squads:
India: MS Dhoni (C), KL Rahul, Faiz Fazal, Manish Pandey, Karun Nair, Ambati Rayudu, Rishi Dhawan, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jasprit Bumrah, Barinder Sran, Mandeep Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Jaydev Unadkat, Yuzvendra Chahal.
India: MS Dhoni (C), KL Rahul, Faiz Fazal, Manish Pandey, Karun Nair, Ambati Rayudu, Rishi Dhawan, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jasprit Bumrah, Barinder Sran, Mandeep Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Jaydev Unadkat, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Zimbabwe: Graeme Cremer (C), Vusimuzi Sibanda, Sikandar Raza, Elton Chigumbura, Hamilton Masakadza, Wellington Masakadza, Tendai Chatara, Chamu Chibhaha, Donald Tiripano, Malcolm Waller, Peter Moor, Tapiwa Mufudza, Tinotenda Mutombodzi, Richmond Mutumbami (Wk), Taurai Muzarabani, Brian Chari, Neville Madziva, Timycen Maruma.
Bureau Report
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