Unfurling an opening masterclass, India's young turks Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill carried their bats to demolish the Zimbabwe bowling and romp home with all 10 wickets to spare in the fourth T20I on Saturday (July 13, 2024) in Harare. With that, Gill and Co also sealed the five-match series 3-1. (Highlights | Scorecard | More Cricket News)
India chased down the target of 153 runs in just 15.2 overs as Jaiswal (93 not out off 53 balls) and Gill (58 not out off 39) put up a commanding show to run the hosts ragged. Jaiswal was nearing a majestic hundred but Gill's late six meant that the southpaw remained seven runs short of the milestone.
In a knock studded with shots all around the park, Jaiswal struck 13 fours and two sixes and looked set to reach the three-figure mark. But with only 150-odd runs to play with and Gill reaching his half-century first, the left-hander had to stay content without a ton.
Earlier, all-rounder Shivam Dube and part-time spinner Abhishek Sharma bowled well in the middle overs to limit Zimbabwe to a gettable 152 for seven after being put into bat by Gill.
Home team captain Sikandar Raza hit 46 runs off 28 balls but Abhishek (1/20 in three overs) and Dube (1/11 in two overs) came up with a decent effort to subdue the Zimbabwe batting. They sent back the dangerous-looking opening pair of Wesley Madhevere (25 off 24 balls) and Tadiwanashe Marumani (32 off 31 balls) to restrict run-scoring in the middle overs.
Raza's blitzkrieg (three sixes and two fours) in the latter half of the innings was the reason why Zimbabwe crossed the 150-run mark, with all the Indian bowlers barring leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi among the wickets.
Medium pacer Tushar Deshpande (1/30 in 3 overs) made his debut in this game but was inconsistent, either pitching it too full or bowling too short. Nevertheless, the seamer picked up the crucial wicket of Raza to open his account in international cricket.
Playing XIs
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill (c), Abhishek Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Tushar Deshpande, Khaleel Ahmed.
Zimbabwe: Wessly Madhevere, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Brian Bennett, Dion Myers, Sikandar Raza (c), Johnathan Campbell, Faraz Akram, Clive Madande (wk), Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani, Tendai Chatara.
The fifth and final T20I, which has now become a dead rubber, will be played at the same venue on Sunday.
