Samson, Dube Mukesh star as India complete 4-1 series win
India completed a splendid turnaround after losing the series opener
India completed a splendid turnaround after losing the series opener
Scorer: Ranjith P | Commentator: Shamya Dasgupta
4.55pm That's the five-T20I series done.
For India, next up is a white-ball series, three in either format, in Sri Lanka later this month. We don't know yet what the make-up of that touring party will be. But we do know that there won't be any Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli or Ravindra Jadeja. The replacement could well be among the players we have just seen in Zimbabwe.
As for Zimbabwe, they have a Test match in Belfast just around the corner, later this month. Sean Williams and Craig Ervine, among others, will be part of that, but Sikandar Raza will not be. He said he is still available for Test cricket, but hasn't played enough red-ball cricket to expect to "just hog" the Zimbabwe jersey.
That's a wrap from us here. We - Sreshth, Ranjith and I - will catch you another time.
#TeamIndia clinch the T20I series
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 14, 2024
Scorecard https://t.co/TZH0TNJKro#ZIMvIND pic.twitter.com/ulza0Gwbd7
4.40pm Shubman Gill collects the series trophy... and this young India team starts the celebrations.
Shubman Gill: "Excellent series. I think the hunger that we should after losing the first match was fantastic to watch. When we came here not everyone had a lot of hits in the nets. We weren't really used to the conditions. The way we adapted (was great)."
Sikandar Raza: "I thought Blessing bowled well the whole series. Batting-wise we are still below par. The grey area for me will remain our attitude in the field."
The Player of the Series is Washington Sundar.
Washington Sundar: "It was good today. Good to finish with a win. I felt after the first game it [the conditions] was very similar to South Africa, with extra speed and extra bounce. Lots of takeaways, lot of learnings, lot of confidence going into the Sri Lanka series."
The Player of the Match is Shivam Dube.
Shivam Dube: "It's always special to contribute, as an allrounder, to contribute with both bat and ball. If you struggle (in T20s), one shot and you are back in the game. (The conditions) were good. We enjoyed playing here. Big boundaries, the atmosphere, the people here⊠it's enjoyable."
- First series win after winning the #T20WorldCup trophy
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) July 14, 2024
- A squad with only three players above the age of 30
What did you make of the Indian team in Zimbabwe under Shubman Gill? https://t.co/LA24yN1Q5i #ZIMvIND pic.twitter.com/wASXwHwhJL
4.30pm - We'll stand by for the presentation ceremony now. Must be a toss-up between Sanju Samson and Mukesh Kumar for the Player of the Match award. That's just me. Enough readers want it to go to Dube. And that tallies with our MVP table.
Rishabh : "Look at your MVP list. It should be dube as man of the match"
Adarsh: "My POTM choice would be Dube, who played a handy cameo to take the total above-par, took 2 wickets with some tight bowling, and an important direct hit to get Raza out. A complete 3-D performance."
4.25pm Let's hear from Riyan Parag and Abhishek Sharma.
Riyan Parag: "Feels great. After the first game everyone woke up, and it was a clinical performance. Enjoyed it to the max. We both opened our (India) jerseys together. We played together in the Under-19 World Cup. Very special to do it with him." On Gill the captain: "We have played together from the Under-16s so it doesn't feel like a transition. He has been exceptional." Abhishek Sharma: "The positive thing was that we didn't get time to think much about that match. We were talking about playing together during the IPL too, that it would be a dream come true. We didn't know we would debut together, but it happened." On his bowling: "A special mention to Shubman and the coaches who gave me a chance after I didn't do well. Very grateful. I have been working very hard because I knew if I got my cap I would have to bowl too.
***
That's 4-1 to India then. A lot of useful contributions from the India team in this game, but Samson with the bat and Mukesh with the ball stood out. The performance of the fifth bowler (Abhishek and Dube) was impressive too. And Zimbabwe, well... they remain a work in progress. Disappointing performance from them after they won the first game of the series. They did show bits of promise in patches. But the fielding was a big letdown, and the batting will need a lot of work to be competitive against top sides.
R Ngarava b Mukesh Kumar 0 (2m 1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
Riyaz: "One more wicket and I vote Mukesh for POTM" - he's got it, my pick too.
Ngarava is the last man.
guneet: "i am struggling to think which 3 names are sure shot entrants into the senior 15 squad- abhishek, gill, ruturaj and washy? it is going to beâŠ.intense!!!"
M Faraz Akram c †Samson b Mukesh Kumar 27 (19m 13b 2x4 2x6) SR: 207.69
Over the wicket to the left-hand batter now.
Free hit coming up That was a front-foot no-ball. Remember he lost a wicket because of it earlier.
99.83% in India's favour now, and it must be done now, right? Mukesh is back
India completed a splendid turnaround after losing the series opener
He says he feels amazing leading 'such phenomenal talented players'
With Washington Sundar also contributing consistently through the Zimbabwe tour, India's T20I future seems to brim with options