That’s some way to bring things back on track. Shubman Gill’s young Indian team has reached parity in the India vs Zimbabwe 5-match T20I series by beating the Chevrons by 100 runs in the second encounter. Coming from a tough 13-run defeat yesterday, the Men in Blue were ready to prove a point. Everyone thought a tough pitch and early wicket would see Team India struggle again, but Abhishek Sharma had different plans. The southpaw scored a lightning-quick century to show why he was among those unlucky few who missed the T20 World Cup berth. He was ably supported by Ruturaj Gaikwad, who brilliantly played the role of the second fiddle. The Indian bowlers were on point again, while the fielding from both sides could have been better.
All about Abhishek Sharma
The India vs Zimbabwe 2nd T20I belonged to Abhishek Sharma. The southpaw, who scored a duck on his debut, came back in the best possible fashion. His maiden ton came in just 46 balls, and it was his hitting that powered India to 234. The opener brought up his first fifty in 33 balls and scored his next fifty runs in just 13 balls as he smashed multiple records.
But it wasn’t just him who scored big. Ruturaj Gaikwad, too, scored a half-century. While Abhishek was making the pitch look easy, Ruturaj was struggling. He was 48(37) at one point and then went berserk, scoring 29 runs off his next 9 balls. He ended with a 77 on July 7 to pay tribute to his mentor, MS Dhoni.
Rinku Singh, too, was in full flow after scoring a duck in the first match, like Abhishek in the last game. The finisher ended up having the highest strike rate of any Indian batter (218.18) and hit five sixes during his stay.
One must also give credit for India’s humongous total (234) to the Zimbabwean fielders. Who dropped four catches, giving two reprieves each to Abhishek and Ruturaj. The CSK skipper was given a chance on his first ball while Abhishek’s was dropped when he was 24(22) and then went on to score 76 from 25 balls.
Latest In Cricket
Avesh & Mukesh’s 3-fers help India to a 100-run win
Similar to the last match, India’s bowling was on point. Every bowler, barring part-timers Abhishek Sharma and Riyan Parag, got a wicket. Abhishek’s first over cost 19 runs and gave Zimbabwe hope, but as soon as Brian Bennett departed after his 9-ball 26 cameo, the match was in India’s grasp.
From 40/1 in 2.5 overs, they were reduced to 73/6 in 10.3 overs, scoring just 23 runs in 46 balls and losing 5 wickets in the process. The Zimbabwean tail wagged similar to the last match, as they scored 61 runs for the last four wickets.
Like yesterday, Washington Sundar and Ravi Bishnoi caused trouble for Zimbabwean batters who failed to tackle them.
However, this time around, the Indian pacers performed much better. Compared to the last game, where they got just 2 wickets in 10 overs, today they ended up with 6 wickets in 7.4 overs.
Editor's Pick
Top Stories
