Opening batsman Abhishek Sharma led India to a commanding 100-run victory over Zimbabwe in the second T20 in Harare on Sunday, left-hander Sharma hitting a stunning 100 off just 47 balls, comprising of 7 fours and 8 sixes. The event marked his first international century, only his 2nd in T20Is, he scored first and set the platform for India’s monstrous total of 234 for 2 wickets.
Sharma’s innings was well supported by Ruturaj Gaikwad, who remained not out on 77, and Rinku Singh, who added 48 runs in quick succession. Their efforts kept India in check throughout the innings, culminating in a devastating score chase for the visitors. In return, Zimbabwe struggled to keep up with the high run rate required to win the match. Avesh Khan and Ravi Bishnoi led the Indian bowling attack with 15/ 3 and 11/ 2. Their disciplined bowling put Zimbabwe at 134 all out, giving India a big win.
After the game, Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raj acknowledged the superiority of the Indian team, describing them as “world champions”. Despite showing some fight, the Zimbabwean batsmen failed to build enough partnerships, with wickets falling regularly, which eventually led to their downfall.
Zimbabwe lost the second T20I
He added: “I thought our fielding was bad, dropping four chances hurt us. I expected 200 on that wicket and it’d get better in the second innings. They got 20 extra. I thought it’d be a close game coming into the chase, but wasn’t to be.”
“Our top order not firing. Blessing has come leaps and bounds, he’s very hungry. As long as he stays fit, he’ll bowl well. We’ve talked about batting for a while. It’s easier to fix when there is a pattern. We came out firing today, lot of the issues came down to inexpereince.”
With this victory, India levelled the five-match series 1-1 and set the stage for the continuation of the series.
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