Abhishek strikes 46-ball ton as India give Zimbabwe a thrashing
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rinku Singh played support roles as India drew level 1-1 in the T20I series, with three games still to play
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rinku Singh played support roles as India drew level 1-1 in the T20I series, with three games still to play
Scorer: M Venkat Raghav | Commentator: Karthik and Ekanth
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
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rinku Singh played support roles as India drew level 1-1 in the T20I series, with three games still to play
He is the first Indian in men's internationals to get to his hundred with three back-to-back sixes (where data is available)
The opener has a reputation for being a basher but in Harare he showed that he has more gears to his game