Some of the fans are still in the grassbanks. They've been great both days. The teams, on the other hand, have had contrasting ones. They'll like to build on something going forward. Will have a couple of days' gap in the endeavour. Join us to find out who'll take the series lead. For now, thanks for joining.
Shubman Gill, India captain: Very happy today. Great to be back on the winning note. It was not easy to bat in the powerplay, Abhi and Rutu built the innings briliantly. Yesterday was more about us not being able to handle pressure. Ours is a young side. Actually, it was good to have pressure in the first game and we knew what to expect today. Hopefully, the batters continue to fire in the games coming up. Always good to have more options than to have no options.
Abhishek Sharma, POTM: It was a good performance after the defeat yesterday. We didn't have much time to lament. I felt that T20 is all about the momentum, thought it was my day today. Special thanks to the coaches and captain to keep confidence. I feel like if it's your day, you express yourself. After the drop I thought it was my day and had to take responsibility. Rutu helped me in keeping perspective. I always believe in my (hitting) ability. It's about momentum for me. If it's in the arc, I believe I need to hit it over regardless of when it is.
Sikandar Raza, Zimbabwe captain: The world champions will eventually play like world champions. I thought our fielding was bad, dropping four chances hurt us. I expected 200 on that wicket and it'd get better in the second innings. They got 20 extra. I thought it'd be a close game coming into the chase, but wasn't to be. Our top order not firing. Blessing has come leaps and bounce, he's very hungry. As long as he stays fit, he'll bowl well. We've talked about batting for a while. It's easier to fix when there is a pattern. We came out firing today, lot of the issues came down to inexpereince.
Meenakshi : "Wow, India won by the exact margin of Abhishek's contribution in the match!"
Ravi Bishnoi: Yesterday was disappointing but feeling great today. We played yesterday and today in the style that we've cultivated over time. I want to contribute towards a win for the team, so today's two wickets were better than yesterday's four. There was no turn but it was skidding, batters didn't have time and were getting hurried. WC celebrations are going on, as they should, since it's been a long wait, that'll continue.
4:15pm A 100-run win to square the series. Clinical after a loss yesterday. Lots of smiles among the Indians. They were a bit shaky for the first 8-9 overs but the Abhishek Sharma show began their dominance that kept Zimbabwe out of the game. The hosts tried to make a fist of a 235-run chase by front-loading without half-measures. Brian Bennett's hiting gave them a flier but Mukesh's early wickets, followed by Avesh getting into the action helped India slice through the batting. Bishnoi was amazing again. The part timers - Abhishek and Parag - got a chance to roll their arms over as well.
LM Jongwe c Gaikwad b Mukesh Kumar 33 (32m 26b 4x4 0x6) SR: 126.92
END OF OVER:18 | 4 Runs 1 Wkt | ZIM: 123/9 (112 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 6.83, RRR: 56.00)
- Tendai Chatara0 (2b)
- Luke Jongwe23 (21b)
- Avesh Khan3-0-15-3
- Ravi Bishnoi4-0-11-2
Abhinav: "I really think people's shouldn't go by Abhishek Sharma's stats. He can be that X factor player who on his day can win you matches on his own and create fear in oppositions. Sometimes we rely too much on stats, but for the impact we must groom some players and eventually inculcate some consistency." Surprised to see this commented at this stage but fair point
B Muzarabani c Washington Sundar b Avesh Khan 2 (5m 4b 0x4 0x6) SR: 50.00
END OF OVER:17 | 4 Runs 1 Wkt | ZIM: 119/8 (116 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 7.00, RRR: 38.66)
- Luke Jongwe21 (19b)
- Blessing Muzarabani1 (2b)
- Ravi Bishnoi4-0-11-2
- Washington Sundar4-0-28-1
Mohit: "@maddy.... Bishnoi is much quicker in the air than Kuldeep. Bishnoi relies on balls skidding off the surface while Kuldeep relies on dipping rapidly and foxing. They are also left and right have spinners so yes in my opinion they can complement each other sometimes in the future depending on the pitch type " Both of them don't bat, which could go against them. But yeah, on pitches that are batter-friendly, they could be wicket-taking options
Leg slip in. Guessing there'll be no legbreaks
W Madhevere b Ravi Bishnoi 43 (76m 39b 3x4 1x6) SR: 110.25