Harare, July 13 (IANS) Under glorious sunshine at the Harare Sports Club on Saturday, India had tons to cheer about, more so in their chase of 153. It all came thanks to Yashasvi Jaiswal and captain Shubman Gill striking unbeaten fifties in resounding fashion as India thrashed Zimbabwe by ten wickets to take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.
With Zimbabwe’s bowlers giving them width and desirable lengths to hit, Jaiswal and Gill kickstarted a rollicking show that saw India raise their fifty in just 3.5 overs. It was effectively one-way traffic as Jaiswal got to his half-century off 29 balls, while Gill got his fifty in 35 balls as India completed the chase in just 15.2 overs.
“I really enjoyed today. The wicket was really good. I was trying to play my shots and I enjoyed my game. When the ball was new it was coming onto the bat. When the ball got old, it was slow. I understood and changed my game. We really enjoyed together. Initially, I wanted to go after my shots. After that, I wanted to rotate and wanted to stay till the end,” said Jaiswal, named Player of the Match, after the game ended.
Exactly a week ago, India were bowled out for 102 in a chase of 116 against Zimbabwe in the T20I series opener. But after that, everything has gone India’s way, something which Gill made a note of.
“Chasing was one thing we talked about. We could not do it in the first game, so good to get it done. The job is not done though. This is a great team, a great bunch of players. Hopefully, we will be able to take the team forward. Haven’t discussed with the coach (on changes tomorrow). If there are any changes, we will let you know at the toss tomorrow.”
Left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed took 2-32 in a collective bowling show for India to keep Zimbabwe to 152/7. In his first series for India after nearly five years, Khaleel said he was happy with his bowling show so far, which have featured him making good use of slower balls.
“I am very happy with my performance. The kind of rhythm I have got, and the execution has been great. This series is everything for me. When I was not part of the dressing room, I was missing it a lot. Very happy to be a part of it.”
“We have all played in the IPL, we are all together in this. I have a lot of responsibility when I start the first over. I was part of the World Cup reserves and there I worked a lot on my cutters and yorkers,” he concluded.
–IANS
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