Welcome to Sportstar’s highlights of the third One-Day International between India and Zimbabwe from the Harare Sports Club.
RESULT: India wins the match by 13 runs and it is a series whitewash with the Indians winning it 3-0.
ZIM 275-8 in 49 overs: Avesh Khan to bowl the last. OUT- Victor Nyauchi b Avesh Khan 0 (3b 0x4 0x6). And that is it for Zimbabwe. What a wonderful fight by Zimbabwe. India wins the match by 13 runs and takes the series 3-0. But Zimbabwe has won hearts today. Special mention goes to Sikandar Raza.
ZIM 275-8 in 49 overs: OUT- Sikandar Raza c Shubman Gill b Thakur 115 (95b 9x4 3x6). That was an insane catch by Gill. It was always difficult as he had to judge the flight of the ball. He does that perfectly and takes a dive forward to catch the ball. Raza walks back. It has been a monster effort by him. 2 runs and wicket. An excellent over by Shardul.
ZIM 273-8 in 48 overs: FOUR- Clever cricket by Raza as he gets down and scoops the ball over short fine leg. SIX-Raza is relentless today. HE follows the boundary with a six. FOUR- Thick inside edge and the ball races away to the ropes. Evans has supported Raza well. What a partnership this has been. OUT- Brad Evans lbw b Avesh Khan 28 (36b 2x4 0x6). The partnership comes to an end. The ball struck in front and the umpire gave out. Evans went for the review immediately but lost it. 15 off the over.
ZIM 255-7 in 47 overs: RAZA REACHES HIS CENTURY! What an innings it has been for him. This is his third century in last six ODIs. Seven runs conceded by Shardul in his eighth over.
ZIM 250-7 in 46 overs: Chahar gets hit for a six in the very first ball and who else but Raza? He connected well with the ball and it went out of the pitch over extra covers. 12 overs from the over.
ZIM 238-7 in 45 overs: Shardul Thakur gives away seven runs in his seventh over. He connected well with the ball as it went over extra covers for a maximum .
ZIM 231-7 in 44 overs: Chahar concedes five runs in his ninth over.
ZIM 226-7 in 43 overs:FOUR- Khan bowled full and wide outside off. Raza hits it over backward point. 11 runs conceded by Avesh.
ZIM 215-7 in 42 overs: Axar Patel concedes four runs in his last over. He has been India’s best bowler today.
ZIM 211-7 in 41 overs: What was that from Avesh? The ball clearly slipped from his hand and Raza had to duck. Ishan did well to dive and prevent the boundary. Immediately apologies from Avesh. FOUR- Down the ground, the ball is hit straight through the bowler’s legs by Raza. FOUR- A howler by Chahar and the ball goes to the fence. The ball slipped through his legs. Sloppy fielding.
ZIM 195-7 in 40 overs: Patel impresses again by bowling a maiden.
ZIM 195-7 in 39 overs: Raza takes a couple and reaches his half-century. A spirited performance but Zimbabwe is still far away from home. 5NB- Samson at deep square leg misjudged the flight of the ball and Raza gets a boundary. To India’s woes, that was a no-ball. FOUR- Raza makes use of the free hit by hitting a boundary . FOUR- Another four by Raza as he finishes the over in style. Thakur concedes 20 runs in his sixth over.
ZIM 175-7 in 38 overs: Patel concedes just one run in his eighth over. He has been India’s best bowler today.
ZIM 172-7 in 37 overs: Five runs from Shardul’s fifth over. There was a LBW appeal but umpire was not interested.
ZIM 169-7 in 36 overs: OUT-Luke Jongwe c Shubman Gill b Kuldeep Yadav 14 (13b 1x4 1x6). Yadav scalps Jongwe’s wicket in his last over. Gill takes a briliant catch at slips.
ZIM 168-6 in 35 overs: FOUR- Jongwe hits the ball past the diving mid-on fielder to find the boundary. SIX- Jongwe follows the boundary with a maximum. Chhar is being punished here.
ZIM 145-6 in 34 overs: Four runs from the over. Yadav has one more over left in his quota.
ZIM 149-6 in 33 overs: Chahar concedes just four runs in the over. Zimbabwe under pressure now.
ZIM 145-6 in 32 overs: A close call for Raza. Kuldeep beats him again and there’s a loud appeal from Kishan for caught behind. Not given. India review. There is daylight between ball and bat and Raza survives. India lose their review. 3 off the over. OUT-Ryan Burl c Dhawan b Chahar 8 (16b 0x4 0x6) . Burl charged down the ground and tries to clear mid-on but the shot did not have enough power and Dhawan catches the ball.
DRINKS
ZIM 142-5 in 31 overs: Raza welcomes Chahar back into the attack with a six to deep square leg. He follows it up with a boundary to third-man. Expensive return for Chahar. 12 off it.
ZIM 130-5 in 30 overs: Just three off Kuldeep’s over. A close stumping chance of Raza but he has got his foot grounded.
ZIM 123-5 in 29 overs: Patel to bowl the 29th over- He concedes four runs. Patel has been immense today.
ZIM 123-5 in 28 overs: OUT-Kishan stumps Kaitano and his return is short-lived. Takudzwanashe Kaitano st Ishan Kishan b Kuldeep Yadav 13 (22b 1x4 1x6). The third umpire is referred to and replay shows that Kishan was right about being so confident.
ZIM 122-4 in 27 overs: Axar bowling the 27th- OUT: Regis Chakabva c & b Patel 16 (27b 1x4 0x6). Chakabva hits the ball straight to Axar and he takes a good catch. Kaitano back on to the pitch.
ZIM 120-3 in 26 overs: Kuldeep bowling the 26th over- Big appeal by Axar And Ishan as they thought the ball hit the pad before bat as Kishan took the catch of Raza but replay shows otherwise. Raza is safe.
ZIM 116-3 in 25 overs: Axar Patel to bowl the 25th - FOUR: Raza, on the back foot, pulled that in the air to the square leg boundary
ZIM 111-3 in 24 overs: Kuldeep bowling the 24th over: FOUR- Chakabva comes down and sweeps the ball behind square. Dhawan tried to get to the ball but failed.
ZIM 101-3 in 23 overs: Axar Patel bowling the 23rd over- he concedes two runs. He has been excellent with his figures today till now.
ZIM 101-3 in 22 overs: Kuldeep bowling the 22nd over: Zimbabwe gets six runs in the over. Their chase has taken a hit after the wicket of Williams.
ZIM 94-3 in 21 overs: Axar Patel to bowl the 21st over- Patel with another economical over as he concedes just two runs.
ZIM 93-3 in 20 overs: Avesh bowling the 19th over- he concedes just two runs in the over. A good over for India
ZIM 91-3 in 19 overs: Patel bowling the 19th over FOUR: Raza drills the ball through the covers. The ball was slow and full by Axar.
ZIM 84-3 in 18 overs: Avesh bowling the 18th - OUT: Tony Munyonga c Rahul b Avesh Khan 15- KL Rahul backtracks and takes a good catch.
ZIM 83-2 in 17 overs: Axar Patel to bowl the 17th - OUT-Sean Williams lbw b Patel 45 (46b 7x4 0x6) Patel has taken the big wicket of Williams. LBW appeal! That was plumb! The umpire raises the finger as confidently as the appeal was. Sikandar Raza in at No 4
ZIM 80-1 in 16 overs: Thakur to bowl the 16th over FOUR: Wiliams hits the ball through covers for a boundary. Five runs from the over.
ZIM 75-1 in 15 overs: Hooda brought into the attack- FOUR: Munyona with a welcome boundary. FOUR- Cheeky by Munyonga. He opens the face of his bat and guides the ball to the drops past the keeper.
ZIM 66-1 in 14 overs: Thakur to bowl the 14th- FOUR: Williams makes use of the short ball again and pulls it between mid-on and midwicket for the boundary. Five runs from the over.
ZIM 61-1 in 13 overs: Yadav to bowl the 13th - He concedes five runs this over. Zimbabwe has been crispt with its running this over.
ZIM 56-1 in 12 overs: Thakur to bowl the 12th over - Thakur maintains his economic bowling. Four runs conceded in this over and six runs total in 2 overs .
ZIM 52-1 in 11 overs: Kuldeep Yadav is brought into the attack- Yadav gives three runs in his first over. Zimbabwe chipping away after early setbacks.
ZIM 49-1 in 10 overs: Shardul to bowl the 10th over- He concedes just two in his first over. A good start for him.
ZIM 47-1 in 9 overs: Chahar bowling the ninth. FOUR- Power personified by Williams as he finds the middle of the bat and sends the ball to the ropes through midwicket.
ZIM 42-1 in 8 overs: Avesh Khan bowling the 8th over - A good over by Avesh as he bowls a maiden.
ZIM 42-1 in 7 overs: Kaitano retires hurt. Tony Munyonga is out to replace him. FOUR- Williams punches the ball through covers and it races away to the boundary. Six runs from the over.
ZIM 36-1 in 6 overs: Kaitano looks uncomfortable Not sure whether its an issue with the hamstring or just cramps. He is okay to continue . SIX- Kaitano gets a maximum. He was not in total control as he lifted the ball over the keeper’s head with the pull shot but he’ll take it.
ZIM 27-1 in 5 overs: Chahar bowling the fifth- FOUR- Williams with another boundary. KL Rahul at mid-on had no chance of getting that. FOUR- Another boundary. Last balls of the over and Williams hits another four in a similar fashion to his previous one in the over.
ZIM 17-1 in 4 overs: Avesh bowling the fourth. Huge LBW appeal. Kishan said the ball was going down leg and that is what the replay showed. Not out. FOUR- Sean Williams, the news batsman, starts strongly and flicks the ball over midwicket for four. Four- Its Kaitano with the boundary this time.
ZIM 8-1 in 3 overs: Chahar bowling the third -FOUR- Comes down the track and lifts the ball over mid-on. First boundary for Zimbabwe. LBW appeal... umpire says no...it goes for a review OUT- Kaia goes. An excellent review. It was a good yorker by Chahar as replay shows the ball did not touch the bat before going on to the pads.
ZIM 3-0 in 2 overs: Avesh Khan bowling the second over- A good over by Khan. He concedes just a run in his opening over.
ZIM 2-0 in 1 over: Kaitano and Kaia open Zimbabwe’s innings. Chahar has run out Kaia at the non-striker’s end but India didn’t appeal. The umpire calls it a Dead Ball. Dead ball called. An interesting start to the innings. Chahar concedes two runs in his first over.
India finishes at 289-8 at the end of 50 overs. Zimbabwe needs 290 runs to win. Stay tuned. Second innings coming up after a short break.
IND 289-8 in 50 overs: Evans bowling the last over the innings OUT- Evans gets Gill and it is the end of a brilliant knock. Shubman Gill c Kaia b Evans 130 (97b 15x4 1x6). Gill went for a six but is caught at long off. FOUR- Thakur drills the ball for a four. OUT- Evans with a perfect reply after conceding the four. The perfect slow ball to Thakur and the latter lofts the ball in the air only to be caught. A five-wicket haul for Evans. Kuldeep the new batsman.
IND 282-6 in 49 overs: Ngarava bowling the 49th over FOUR- Immediately impact from Shardul. He times the ball well as it races through covers for a boundary. Seven runs in the over.
IND 274-6 in 48 overs: Nyauchi bowling the 48th. FOUR- Gill sends the ball to the deep midwicket ropes for a boundary OUT- Axar Patel goes for the biggie but he is caught. It’s Sikandar Raza with the catch. Shardul Thakur is the news batsman.
IND 264-5 in 47 overs: Ngrava bowling the 47th- FOUR- Sloppy fielding from Zimbabwe again as it concedes a four again. The ball dropped right in front of Evans and he could not judge the flight of the ball.
IND 256-5 in 46 overs: Jongwe bowling the 46th over. Dropped: Nyauchi drops Gill at short fine-leg. Consecutive sixes for Sanju Samson. He looks to be in form. OUT- Spoke too soon there. Samson looks to find another six but instead finds Kaitano on the far side. Axar Patel is the news bats
IND 242-4 in 45 overs: Evans to bowl the 45th- SIX: Gill finishes the over in style as he sends the ball outside the park for his first six.
IND 233-4 in 44 overs: Nyauchi to bowl the 44th over- Century: A single and GILL SCORES HIS MAIDEN INTERNATIONAL CENTURY!!! FOUR- Gill finishes the over in style as he punches the ball to the ropes.
IND 227-4 in 43 overs: Evans bowling the 43rd over. Gill reaches 99 with a single. Just one run away from his maiden ODI century. OUT- Hooda gone. Evan strikes again.
IND 223-2 in 42 overs: Nyauchi bowling the 42nd over- Fifty: Ishan Kishan reaches his half-century. He has supported Gill really well and in the process, scored a well-deserved 50. OUT-LBW appeal for Gill but review shows he is not out. But Kishan has been run out in te process. Hooda in at No 5.
IND 218-2 in 41 overs: Evans bowling the 41st. FOUR- Gill glanced the ball well and it went past fine leg for a four. Eight runs from the over.
IND 210-2 in 40 overs: Jongwe bowling the 40th over- Misfield: Sloppy by Nyachi as his midfield cost his team four runs. India brings up 200. 11 runs from the over.
IND 199-2 in 39 overs: Ngrava to bowl the 39th- FOUR: Shubhman Gill finds the fence with a chop of the bat. Power at its best as Gill nears the cenutry-mark.
IND 188-2 in 38 overs: Jongwe to bowl the 38th. Good running between the wickets to get three in the last ball. Six runs in the over .
IND 182-2 in 37 overs: Richard Ngarava comes back into the attack. Gill moves into the seventies with a thumping cover drive for four. He is in some form, is Gill. Ishan ends the over with an outside edge that flies through an empty slip cordon for four.
IND 171-2 in 36 overs: Tony Munyonga comes into the attack. Ishan Kishan joins the fun as he nails the slogsweep wide of mid-wicket for four. The second boundary of the over comes off the blade of Gill, who sweeps one to backward square leg.
IND 161-2 in 35 overs: Gill’s upping the ante now. He collects two boundaries off this Williams over - first a sweep, followed by a drive through extra cover drive.
IND 154-2 in 34 overs: Raza’s into his 10th. Gill brings up his 50 off 51 balls, with a single. His fourth in ODIs. Raza has bowled out 10-1-39-0.
IND 144-2 in 33 overs: Williams. Three from his fourth over. He continues to be parsimonious. Gill is nearing his 50.
IND 141-2 in 32 overs: Raza. Ishan adds to his boundary tally by pumping one to the deep midwicket fence. He follows it up by stepping down the pitch and smacking one over long on for four. 9 from the over. The 50 partnership is up between Gill and Ishan.
IND 132-2 in 31 overs: Williams into his third. He has bowled well - probing lines. Just 2 off this over.
IND 130-2 in 30 overs: Raza. Gill is in total control at the moment. No half measures. He is going at over run-a-ball right now. Kishan is starting to find his rhythm as well. Ominous signs for Zimbabwe. 4 off the over.
IND 126-2 in 29 overs: Kishan, who was dropped on 6, is definitely trying to take on Williams here. Lovely little battle going on at the moment. Meanwhile, Gill plays a paddle sweep and collects four more. He is motoring towards the 50-run mark.
IND 120-2 in 28 overs: Raza into his seventh over. The two batters content with nudging the ball around for singles. Four from it.
IND 116-2 in 27 overs: Sean Williams comes into the attack. Ishan says ‘I’ve had enough’ as he launches one down the ground for his first four of the match. Ishan then gets a reprieve as Williams fails to latch on to a tough caught-and-bowled chance. 7 from the over.
IND 109-2 in 26 overs: Raza continues. While Gill has opened up with some glorious hits to the fence, Kishan has taken his time. Three runs off the over. Ishan 2 off 14.
IND 106-2 in 25 overs: Gill greets Jongwe with a picturesque cover drive. He betters with a top-drawer straight drive next. He is oozing class now. 10 off the over including a wide.
IND 96-2 in 24 overs: A maiden over from Raza. Kishan defends a few but seems to be struggling to connect.
IND 96-2 in 23 overs: Bowled into the pads and Gill has skilfully guided this fine for a boundary. Kishan gets off the mark with a hard slash at a widish delivery but there was hardly any timing on it.
IND 89-2 in 22 overs: Ishan Kishan comes to the crease. Shubman Gill carves the first ball for four. Just one off the remaining five balls.
IND 84-2 in 21 overs: Evans continues. Gill plays a delightful straight drive for four. Pure timing. Got behind the ball and played it past the bowler for four. No follow-through - just a mere punch is all. GONE! Dhawan gets a leading edge to the man at cover. He falls for a 68-ball 40.
IND 77-1 in 20 overs: Dhawan continues to score runs - this time with a slog sweep that races away to the fence. Seven off that over. India in no hurry to up the scoring rate, yet.
IND 70-1 in 19 overs: Evans bowling his fifth. Two runs from the over. Good pressure from Zimbabwe.
IND 68-1 in 18 overs: Raza bowling the 18th. He concedes just one run again- economical from the spinner.
IND 67-1 in 17 overs: Evans to bowl the 17th over. Three runs from the over. Evans should be high on confidence after getting the Indian skipper.
IND 64-1 in 16 overs: Sikandar Raza bowling his first over. Just one run from the over. A good start by Raza.
IND 63-1 in 15 overs: Evans back for his third over- SIX: First six of the innings and KL Rahul is the one who hits it. He was not in total control of the pull. Kaia leapt but could not reach the ball. OUT- KL Rahul b Evans 30 (46b 1x4 1x6) Rahul tried to take control of the shot but it takes an inside edge and hits the stumps.
IND 55-0 in 14 overs: Nyauchi to bowl his seventh over-Another solid over by Nyauchi. Three runs from it. He has bowled well today. 25 runs from seven overs with an economical rate of 3.57.
IND 52-0 in 13 overs: Evans back for his second over- With a single India reaches the 50-run mark. Evans gives three runs in the over.
IND 49-0 in 12 overs: Nyauchi bowling his sixth- Another good over by Nyauchi. Just three runs from it.
IND 46-0 in 11 overs: Brad Evans into the attack- FOUR: KL Rahul welcomes Evans with his trademark shot. He jabbed the ball as it beat the fielders at point and ran away to the boundary. Evans concedes five in his first over.
IND 41-0 in 10 overs: Nyauchi back into the attack- Three: A classy shot by KL Rahul. He timed the ball wonderfully through the covers. The ball did not reach the fence but India got three runs. Four runs from the over.
IND 37-0 in 9 overs: Ngarava to bowl his fifth over- FOUR: A lovely shot by Dhawan. He opened his bat and glided the ball to the deep third fence.
IND 32-0 in 8 overs: Dhawan got a free-hit but could not make much of it- just a couple. The Indian openers keep chipping away.
IND 27-0 in 7 overs: Ngarava gets an inside edge as Dhawan charges down the ground. However, the ball did not carry to the keeper. Dropped: Dhawan tried to punch the ball. The ball went straight to Munyonga at backward point who could not hold on to it. That could be costly for Zimbabwe. Five runs from the over for India.
IND 22-0 in 6 overs: Nyauchi has bowled a maiden. Dhawan tried to get a single in the last ball but KL Rahul was not interested.
IND 22-0 in 5 overs: Ngarava was excellent in this over. Just two runs conceded. India is losing precious overs in the Powerplay.
IND 20-0 in 4 overs: An economical second over by Nyauchi. He conceded just four runs. The Indian openers still finding their feet in the game
IND 16/0 in 3 overs: Rahul meanwhile has faced just four balls for his two. Dhawan’s batting has been seamless. India would want these two to exploit the PowerPlay. Ngarava goes for three in his second over.
IND 13/0 in 2 overs: Victor Nyauchi to share the new ball. Five off the over including another boundary for Dhawan. He’s off to a quick start. He has also hogged most of the strike so far.
IND 8/0 in 1 over: Dhawan and KL Rahul open. Ngarava opens the attack. Dhawan off the mark with a boundary off the second ball - a cracking cut shot. He follows it up with a trademark expansive drive through covers for four more.
Playing XI for today’s match
12:15 pm: Toss Update
Indian captain KL Rahul wins the toss again chooses to bat first.
India team news: Mohammad Siraj and Prasidh Krishna miss out. Deepak Chahar and Avesh Khan come in.
Zimbabwe team news: Richard Ngarava comes in for Tanaka Chivanga, Tony Munyonga is in for Wessly Medhevere.
Head-to-head record
In the last five matches between the sides, India has maintained a 100 per cent win record against Zimbabwe
Match Preview
A fancied Indian team is a shoo-in to complete a 3-0 ODI series sweep against a Zimbabwe side that has been struggling to put up even a semblance of a fight.
Having done exceedingly well to not just turn up but trump its hapless opponent on all fronts in the preceding two matches, India will enter the third and final ODI knowing well that the script is unlikely to change at the Harare Sports Complex on Monday.
This will translate to the visiting team getting yet another opportunity to carry out experimentation keeping the bigger picture in mind, i.e, next year’s ICC World Cup.
Stand-in skipper KL Rahul has done quite well to keep the players motivated enough to go out in the middle, grab the chances with both hands, and cement their places in the side that is gearing up for big battles in the coming times.
There is no doubt that they have not faced the kind of examination that would have helped them develop further as cricketers, but those who are looking to get a longer run at the top level would certainly not mind the experience.
If the 161 all-out in the second game is any evidence, the home team continues to look for a quick fix to its batting woes, while the bowlers are also not able to trouble the Indian batting line-up that has some of the top ODI players in its ranks. For proof, one can take a look at Shikhar Dhawan’s statistics in the 50-over format.
The extremely talented Shubhman Gill should not be content with whatever he has achieved so far on the tour, and will certainly look to have another go at the Zimbabwe bowlers.
The move to promote himself up the order did not work in the second match but that will not deter Rahul from trying it out one more time.
His stay at the crease in the second ODI lasted just nine balls as he could score just one run off five balls.
In the absence of the front-line bowlers, this attack has performed extremely well and showed what it is capable of, and the quality of opposition is no reason to undermine the efforts of committed people like Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Prasidh Krishna and Axar Patel.
Among the batters, Ishan Kishan, if he gets another chance to bat, will look to overcome the failure of the second game with a good knock.
After the 10-wicket drubbing in the series opener, Zimbabwe could reduce the margin of defeat in the second ODI, but to ensure a better result they would need to play out of their skins.
Even that may not be enough for the beleaguered host, but it would do well to promote Sikandar Raza and Sean Williams, Zimbabwe’s best batters for some time now, in the line-up.
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