India failed to chase a modest target of 116 runs against Zimbabwe in the first T20I at Harare on Saturday. Captain Shubman Gill (31 off 29 balls) and Washington Sundar (27 off 34 balls) were the highest scorers of India. Tendai Chatara and Sikandar Raza took three wickets each as Zimbabwe took a 1-0 lead in the series. Catch the highlights of the IND Vs ZIM, 1st T20I match, here
Here are the highlights of the first T20I match between India and Zimbabwe. Harare Sports Club was ready for a thrilling high-scoring contest but Zimbabwe could only post 115 runs on the board after being invited to bat first. Indian batting collapsed and we saw a bowling masterclass from all Zimbabwean bowlers as they successfully defended a modest total of 115 runs and took a lead in the five-match series. Catch the highlights of the IND Vs ZIM, 1st T20I match, here. (Scorecard | Streaming)
India: Shubman Gill(c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel(w), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma, Tushar Deshpande, Harshit Rana
Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Sikandar Raza(c), Johnathan Campbell, Clive Madande(w), Innocent Kaia, Wessly Madhevere, Luke Jongwe, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Tendai Chatara, Brandon Mavuta, Dion Myers, Faraz Akram, Antum Naqvi
Harshit Rana, B Sai Sudharsan and Jitesh Sharma were added to the squad just a few days before the start of the series because three players from the World Cup-winning team were unable to join the squad in the given time. Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube are set to join the team in Harare after the second game.
India have won the toss and have opted to field
Playing XIs:
Zimbabwe: Tadiwanashe Marumani, Innocent Kaia, Brian Bennett, Sikandar Raza (c), Dion Myers, Johnathan Campbell, Clive Madande(w), Wessly Madhevere, Luke Jongwe, Blessing Muzarabani, Tendai Chatara
India: Shubman Gill (c), Abhishek Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Riyan Parag, Rinku Singh, Dhruv Jurel(w), Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed
Abhishek Sharma, Dhruv Jurel and Riyan Parag are going to play their first T20 international match today. Captain Shubman Gill announced their inclusion in the playing XI.
There is a slight covering of grass on the pitch and it looks like a good wicket to bat on. Batting second won't create any problem for India as the wicket may not change much. 150 is an average score on this pitch but Zimbabwe will be looking to post more than that.
Khaleel Ahmed opened the bowling attack for India and came to bowl the first over. Innocent Kaia and Wessly Madhevere opened the batting for Zimbabwe. The first ball of Khaleel went for a boundary, but he managed to make a comeback and bowled three back-to-back dot balls to finish the first over with just six runs conceding.
ZIM - 6/0 (1)
With the first delivery of his over, Mukesh Kumar dismissed the opener batter Innocent Kaia with a beautiful inswinger. Kaia tried to block the ball but it went on to hit the timber and India got their first wicket in the match. Brian Bennett is the new batter at the crease.
ZIM - 19/1 (3)
Ravi Bishnoi was introduced in the last over of the powerplay and bowled the set batter Brian Bennett on the first delivery of the over. Sikandar Raza was the next batter and Bishnoi managed to bowl a wicket-maiden over.
ZIM - 40/2 (6)
Ravi Bishnoi was called back into the attack in the eighth over and he removed the set batter Wessly Madhevere on the fifth delivery of the over. Dion Myers is the new batter at the crease.
ZIM - 60/3 (9)
After leaking nine runs in his first over, Avesh Khan was called back into the attack and he delivered with the wicket of Sikandar Raza. Jonathan Campbell got run out on the first delivery he played. Zimbabwe are five wickets down and the Indian team has their grip on the match.
ZIM - 74/5 (12)
Washington Sundar kept bowling from one end and dismissed Dion Myers and Wellington Masakadza on successive deliveries. He first got Myers caught and bowled then Jurel stumped Masakadza on his first delivery of the match. Zimbabwe are seven wickets down.
ZIM - 90/7 (15)
Ravi Bishnoi came to bowl his last over in the 16th over and he bowled a brilliant double-wicket maiden over to finish his spell. His bowling figure of 4-2-13-4 was outstanding as he left Zimbabwe with nine wickets down.
ZIM - 90/9 (16)
Washington Sundar bowled the 17th over and conceded just one run. He finished his four overs with the bowling figure of 4-0-11-2. Avesh Khan came to bowl the 18th over and conceded seven runs as the Zimbabwe team is nearing the 100-run mark.
ZIM - 98/9 (18)
India couldn't manage to get the last wicket of Zimbabwe as the hosts crossed the 100-run mark successfully and also set a 116-run target for the visitors. Mukesh Kumar gave just five runs from the penultimate over but Avesh Khan conceded three boundaries in the last over which helped Zimbabwe post 115 runs on the board.
ZIM - 115/9 (20)
Brief Score: ZIM - 115/9 (20)
Clive Madande - 29 (25), Brian Bennett - 23 (15) | Ravi Bishnoi: (4-2-13-4)
Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma opened the batting for India but Sharma couldn't spend much time at the crease as he was dismissed on the fourth delivery of the first over. Ruturaj Gaikwad joined Shubman Gill in the first over.
IND - 0/1 (1)
Tendai Chatara was introduced into the attack and he leaked eight runs in the third over. India need a big partnership from here.
IND - 12/1 (3)
Blessing Muzarabani was introduced into the attack in the fourth over and he got rid of Ruturaj Gaikwad on the third delivery of the over. Within four overs, two batters are back in the pavilion. Riyan Parag is the new batter at the crease.
IND - 16/2 (4)
Tendai Chatara kept bowling from one end and got the wickets of Riyan Parag and Rinku Singh in his second over of the spell. Dhruv Jurel joined Shubman Gill at the cresae.
IND - 22/4 (5)
After claiming two wickets in his last over, Tendai Chatara bowled a brilliant maiden over with Dhruv Jurel on strike. India need a partnership from here.
IND - 28/4 (7)
Wellington Masakadza was brought back into the attack in the 9th over and he conceded just two runs from the over.
IND - 36/4 (9)
Luke Jongwe was introduced into the attack in the 10th over and he delivered with the wicket of Dhruv Jurel. India are five wickets down and the last batting pair of Washington Sundar and Shubman Gill are at the crease. The tailenders are next.
IND - 43/5 (10)
Sikandar Raza came to bowl the 11th over and Shubman Gill welcomed him with a boundary. Raza bowled him on the next delivery to make India six wickets down. Ravi Bishnoi joined Washington Sundar at the crease.
IND - 53/6 (11)
Sikandar Raza bowled another over from his end and removed Ravi Bishnoi on the fifth delivery of the over. India are seven wickets down and Washington Sundar is the only player left who can bat.
IND - 61/7 (13)
India still need 41 runs off 30 balls and it is time to take the risk. Men In Blue are already seven wickets down and the match could go in any direction. Sundar need to take charge now and shift gears.
IND - 75/7 (15)
India are nine wickets down and Zimbabwe are just one wicket away from a famous win. India still need 30 runs to win off 18 balls. All results are possible but Zimbabwe are in the game and it is now their game to lose.
IND - 86/9 (17)
Washington Sundar managed to get 12 runs from the over and now, India need 18 runs in the last two over with just one wicket left.
IND - 98/9 (18)
Blessing Muzarabani bowled the penultimate over and gave just two runs. All eyes are on Washington Sundar as India still need 16 runs in the final over.
IND - 100/9 (19)
Washington Sundar couldn't finish the game like he wanted and after playing three out of the first four deliveries as dot balls, he lost his wicket on the fifth delivery. India went down by 13 runs in the series opener.
IND - 102/10 (19.5)
116 Zim Harare 2024 *
127 NZ Nagpur 2016
131 SA Nottingham 2009
146 Zim Harare 2016
150 WI Tarouba 2023
74 vs Aus Melbourne 2008
79 vs NZ Nagpur 2016
92 vs SA Cuttack 2015
101 vs SL Pune 2016
102 vs Zim Harare 2024 *
102 is their lowest all out total in T20Is in the last eight years.
We bowled pretty well, we let ourselves down in the field. We were not up to standard and everyone looked a bit rusty. We spoke about taking time and enjoying our batting but it didn't pan out that way. Halfway through we had lost 5 wickets, would've been best for us if I stayed there till the end, very disappointed with the way I got out and the rest of the match panned out. There was a bit of hope for us but when you're chasing 115 and your no.10 batter is out there, you know something is wrong.
Feel really happy about the win. Need to take one game at a time. The job is not done, series is not over. World champions play like world champions so we need to be ready for the next game. This isn't a wicket where you get bowled out for 115. Credit to the bowlers of both sides. Clearly an indication we need to up our skills. I said I don't care about the result as long as we could be true to the crowd and changing room, we had our plans, we stuck to it and we backed our guys. Our catching and ground fielding was amazing but we did make some errors, shows there's room for improvement. We knew the fans would lift us up and give us energy, credit to them, it helped us.
Zimbabwe are leading 1-0 in the five-match series and they will play the second T20I tomorrow at the same venue. Join us tomorrow at the same time. Goodnight and take care!