In the first T20I, against the disciplined bowling of India, Zimbabwe could only score 125/7 in 20 overs. Mayank Yadav and Prince Yadav took two wickets each. India needs 126 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Harare [जिम्बाब्वे]July 23 (ANI): India’s bowlers produced a disciplined performance to restrict Zimbabwe to 125/7 in 20 overs in the first match of the three-match T20 series at the Harare Sports Club on Thursday. Fast bowler Mayank Yadav’s brilliant opening spell and Prince Yadav’s effective bowling in the death overs prevented the host team from scoring big.
Indian captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to bowl first and relied on a new bowling unit, which also included debutant fast bowler Ashok Sharma. This decision quickly proved correct as India’s fast bowlers applied pressure early on and destroyed Zimbabwe’s top order.
Mayank Yadav’s deadly bowling, bad start for Zimbabwe
Fast bowler Mayank Yadav bowled an incendiary opening spell, using his pace and bounce effectively on the Harare pitch. He took wickets twice in the powerplay, first dismissing opener Brian Bennett for zero on the very first ball of the innings and then sending Dion Myers to the pavilion for 6 runs. His accurate bowling gave Zimbabwe no chance to recover and the team was at 20/2 in 4 overs.
At the other end, Prince Yadav maintained the pressure with disciplined bowling and took the wicket of Ben Curran for 10 runs. Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza also failed to provide stability and fell to Shivam Dube after scoring just 4 runs, leaving the hosts slipping to 40/4 inside eight overs.
Madhevere and Burl took over the innings
After this, Zimbabwe tried to make a comeback by making a partnership of 32 runs through Wesley Madhevere and Ryan Burl. The pair played cautiously, rotated the strike and tried to rebuild the innings by hitting the bad balls. Their partnership helped Zimbabwe cross the 80-run mark, but India bounced back once again when leg spinner Ravi Bishnoi dismissed Burl to halt Zimbabwe’s progress before the death overs. Burl contributed 26 runs in 35 balls before being dismissed in the 14th over. After 14 overs, Zimbabwe’s score was 72/5.
Tadiwanshe Marumani supported Madhevere, while Madhevere continued to fight and became Zimbabwe’s top scorer with 39* off 35 balls, which included three fours and a six. Marumani’s inning of 27 runs in 20 balls helped Zimbabwe cross the 120-run mark. The left-handed batsman remained unbeaten on 27 runs in 20 balls, in which he hit two fours and a six. Together they made a partnership of 57 runs in 37 balls.
Despite losing the wickets of Brad Evans and Madhevere in the last over, Zimbabwe scored 125/7 in 20 overs. Mayank Yadav was India’s most successful bowler, taking 2 wickets for 18 runs in four overs, while Prince Yadav also took 2 wickets for 19 runs. Ravi Bishnoi and Shivam Dubey took one wicket each.
India now need 126 runs in 20 overs to win the match and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20 series. (ANI)
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