Short of runs in the first two games, captain Shubman Gill (66 off 49 balls) ensured he made a significant contribution for India in the third T20I against Zimbabwe in Harare on Wednesday.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, batting at No.4 on this occasion, also contributed with a 28-ball 49 while spinner all-rounder Washington Sundar (3/15) stood out with the ball as India won the game by 23 runs, taking a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
In reply to India’s 182/4 after they won the toss and opted to bat first, the Zimbabweans could manage only 159/6.
A look at the current scoreline in the series does suggest India’s strong comeback following their shock loss in the opener last Saturday. But with Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube — members of the T20 World Cup-winning squad — back in the XI, this was a much stronger Indian side than the ones which had featured in the first couple of T20Is.
Yet, in all fairness, this wasn’t quite a convincing performance from the Gill-led unit, especially against a side that is extremely below-par in all aspects of the game. Jaiswal, opening the innings with Abhishek Sharma pushed to No.3, and Gill hit 49 off the first four overs, giving India an ideal start.
But the left-hander, who took Riyan Parag’s place, couldn’t convert his brisk start and perished on 36 off 27 balls, while Abhishek departed after scoring only 10. India suddenly found themselves at 81/2 halfway in the 11th over despite such a blistering start in the first four overs.
However, thanks to the solid and steady 72-run stand between Gill and Gaikwad for the third wicket, reaching 180 looked quite possible. Skipper Gill’s innings comprised seven boundaries and three maximums, while Gaikwad made sure he accelerated further after the former’s dismissal in the 18th over.
Gaikwad finished with four boundaries and three sixes before falling in the final over of India’s innings. What bodes well for Gaikwad is not appearing to be out of place for having to bat at No.4, a position where he hasn’t batted too often lately.
Keeper-batter Samson, who too had to warm the bench like Jaiswal right through the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the United States, got seven balls to face and did his bit coming in place of Dhruv Jurel. He remained not out on 12, hitting two boundaries.
In a nutshell, the start India were off to, they should have reached 200 at least if not more against such a pedestrian bowling attack.
“It did look like that (a letdown for not being able to reach 200), but the wicket was a bit two-paced. The odd ball was gripping and it was not easy to hit the length ball,” Gill said at the post-match presentation.
Bowling-wise, quicks Avesh Khan and Khaleel Ahmed (replacing Mukesh Kumar) had reduced Zimbabwe to 19/3 in the fourth over before Sundar, with his off-spin, cleaned up the hosts’ middle order. The job was more or less done for India with Zimbabwe reeling at 39/5 in seven overs.
But that’s when Dion Myers and Clive Madande put up a resistance, taking advantage of loose stuff dished out, particularly by leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, all-rounder Dube (replacing Sai Sudharsan) and Avesh in his second spell.
Sundar, however, continued to impress and broke the sixth-wicket stand by dismissing Madande in the 17th over.
That gave India the breakthrough. Importantly, Sundar didn’t concede even a boundary in his four-over spell.
Brief scores: India 182/4 in 20 ovs (Shubman Gill 66, Ruturaj Gaikwad 49; Sikandar Raza 2/24, Blessing Muzarabani 2/25). Zimbabwe 159/6 in 20 ovs (Dion Myers 65 n.o.; Washington Sundar 3/15). India won by 23 runs.
