Bumrah, Rahul take India to easy win over Zimbabwe
© Twitter - Zimbabwe Cricket
KL Rahul became the first Indian to score an ODI century on debut as he and Rayudu formed a century partnership to help India defeat Zimbabwe by nine wickets in the first ODI at Harare on Saturday. Earlier, Jasprit Bumrah’s four-wicket haul had helped India bundle out the hosts for just 168.
Brief Scores: Zimbabwe 168 all-out in 49.5/50 overs (Chigumbura 41(65), Sikandar Raza 23(54), Bumrah 4/28, Sran2/42, Kulkarni 2/42) lost to India 173/1 in 42.3/50 overs (KL Rahul 100*(115), Rayudu 62*(120), Chatara 1/20) by 9 wickets
After two months of T20 extravaganza in the IPL, the Indian cricket team travelled to Zimbabwe for a three-match ODI and T20 series. With Zimbabwe at 11th in the ICC ODI rankings, India opted to rest most of their starters for the tour and picked a second-string squad with skipper MS Dhoni being the only exception.
For the first match of the series, India went in with a six batsmen-five bowler combination giving KL Rahul, Karun Nair, and Yuzvendra Chahal their ODI debuts. Zimbabwe, on the other hand, picked a full-strength squad with Graeme Cremer as the captain. MS Dhoni called it right at the toss and opted to bowl first with the conditions predicted to assist the pacers initially.
India bowlers on top; Zimbabwe in free fall
Going up against the pace line-up of Dhawal Kulkarni, Barinder Sran, and Jasprit Bumrah was always a huge task for the Zimbabwe batsmen. With the conditions helping seam bowlers, Kulkarni and Sran swung the ball around to keep the batsmen under a tight leash. Sran struck first and removed Peter Moor in the second over with an inswinger, which caught him right in front of the stumps. The scoreboard moved at a snail’s pace, and the Indian pacers added to the misery of the hosts by removing Hamilton Masakadza and Chamu Chibhabha before the scoreboard reached the fifty-run mark.
Bumrah, who removed Chibhabha in the 14th over with a peach of a delivery, added another to his kitty in the 20th over by ending Vusi Sibanda’s stay at the crease. Although wickets were tumbling at the other end, Craig Ervine looked relatively comfortable in the middle before he went for an ambitious shot off Axar Patel. Substitute fielder Faiz Fazal took an easy catch at long-on to remove the left-hander, and left the hosts looking down the barrel at 77/5 in 24 overs.
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Elton Chigumbura - Zimbabwe’s only saving grace
At the half-way mark, Zimbabwe had lost five of their top-order batsmen. With only the all-rounders and bowlers remaining, India would have hoped to wrap up the rest of the wickets before the end of the overs. But, Elton Chigumbra had other plans. The former Zimbabwe captain joined hands with Sikandar Raza and formed a 38-run partnership for the sixth wicket to take the hosts forward. Although the scoring rate was not high, the duo made sure that the scoreboard was ticking by adding singles and twos. With the duo in the middle, the hosts looked comfortable for the first time in the match, but it did not last long. Sran returned in the 38th over and removed Raza for 23 off 54 balls with a full-delivery outside off-stump, and the right-hander dragged it back to the stumps to depart to the pavilion.
Wicket-keeper Richmond Mutumbami and skipper Graeme Cremer fell without causing too much trouble to the scorers. But, Chigumbra made sure that the score moved forward by finding boundaries whenever possible. By the time he, finally, fell in the last over of the innings, Chigumbura had taken Zimbabwe to 167. Bumrah, who removed the batsman for 41, struck two balls later to pick up his fourth wicket of the match, and to finish off the hosts innings for 168.
Nair falls early; Rahul and Rayudu take India forward
The bowlers dominated the first innings of the day, but Elton Chigumbura’s knock at the end showed that the pitch had eased out. Debutants Karun Nair and KL Rahul came out to chase the 169-run target, and India would have hoped for a better start than the one their rivals got. Pacer Tendai Chatara ended Karun Nair’s debut innings for just seven runs in the fifth over to ruin India’s hopes of a good start. Rahul was then joined by Ambati Rayudu, and with the Zimbabwe pacers bowling a tight line, the batsmen were forced to go into their shells.
Just like the Zimbabwe innings, the Indian scoreboard also moved at a snail pace in the initial overs with just 27 runs coming in the first ten. As the ball got old, Rahul and Rayudu got more opportunities to score runs, and they cashed in every time an opportunity came their way. While Rayudu looked solid at one end, Rahul took the role of the aggressor and smashed Chigumbura for two boundaries in the 19th over. He did the same a few overs later and scored back-to-back boundaries off Zimbabwe skipper Cremer in the 23rd over, before bringing up his maiden fifty off 57 balls.
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Clueless Zimbabwe bowlers; Rahul scores century
Although they struggled initially, India did not feel any pressure in the chase after that, as Rahul and Rayudu looked at home against Zimbabwe. Cremer changed one bowler after another in search of the wicket, but the partnership kept ticking along. The duo brought up the century partnership in the 28th over to leave India needing just 58 runs in the remaining 22 overs. Rayudu also crossed his fifty-run mark a few overs later, but Rahul was not finished. Although it looked like the chance for a century had gone, the opener slowly added his runs and smashed the first and last six of the match in the 43rd over to score a century, and took the team to an easy victory. With the century, he also became the 11th cricketer and the first Indian to score an ODI century on debut.
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