India secure series win as Chahal and Sran wreak havoc

India secure series win as Chahal and Sran wreak havoc

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© Twitter - Zimbabwe Cricket

A commanding performance from the bowlers helped India defeat Zimbabwe by 8 wickets in the second ODI at Harare today to take an unassailable 0-2 lead in the series. Spinner Yuzvendra Chahal’s three-wicket haul helped India bundle out the host for 126 before the batsmen guided India to victory.

Brief Scores: Zimbabwe 126 all-out in 34.3/50 overs (Sibanda 53(69), Chibhabha 21(26), Chahal 3/25, Sran 2/17) lost to India 129/2 in 26.5/50 overs (Rayudu 41*(44), Karun 39(68), Raza 1/7) by 8 wickets

After a comfortable victory in the series opener, India and Zimbabwe once again clashed against each other at the Harare Sport Club with the visitors eyeing a series win. For the second match in a row, MS Dhoni won the toss and opted to bowl first with chilly conditions favouring the pace bowlers. The Men in Blue went with an unchanged XI, while Zimbabwe brought in middle-order batsman Sean Williams in place of Craig Ervine, who missed out with a hamstring injury.

Pacers strike early; Sibanda counter-attacks

In the first ODI, the Indian pace trio of Dhawal Kulkarni, Barinder Sran, and Jasprit Bumrah had picked eight wickets among themselves to break the back of the Zimbabwe attack, and the pacers once again started in a similar fashion in the second ODI picking three wickets in the first ten overs. The home team changed their opening combination for the match as Chamu Chibhabha opened with Hamilton Masakadza instead of Peter Moor. The new opening combo lasted more balls than the first one, but Sran once again took the first wicket of the match to remove Masakadza in the fifth over. Moor, who came in at No.3, and Chibhabha followed Masakadza soon to the dressing room to leave the hosts reeling at 39/3.

A repeat of the first ODI was on the cards, but Vusi Sibanda had other plans. The right-handed batsman opted to go after the Indian bowlers in an attempt to reverse the pressure. Bumrah was the first to receive the wrath of the 32-year-old as he struck two boundaries off the 15th over to announce his intent. Dhoni quickly brought on the spinners, but it made no difference to Sibanda. Sibanda brought up his fifty just before the half-way mark as the Indians looked worried probably for the first time in the series.

Chahal turns it back for India

106/3 in 25 overs was a good score on the slow wicket at Harare. With Sibanda playing a brilliant knock, a 250+ score looked possible, but Yuzvendra Chahal turned the game in just one over. Although Sibanda got the better of the leggie in the initial overs, Chahal kept at it and removed Sikandar Raza in the 26th over to bring India back into the game. He made it two in two with the next ball and trapped Elton Chigumbura before the stumps. Even though he did not get a hat-trick, Chahal took the price wicket of Sibanda a few overs later to effectively end Zimbabwe’s hopes of a big score. The right-hander went after a loopy wide leg-break, and just like Raza, he picked out the fielder at long-on. The rest of the tail was cleaned up quickly, and with Sean Williams not able to take the field after suffering a finger injury, India bundled out Zimbabwe for 126.

A stroll for the Indian batsmen

India needed 127 runs to secure a series win, and with just 2.54 runs needed per over, it was a stroll in the park for the Indian batsmen to stay the least. However, for Karun Nair, the innings started once again in a nervy fashion. Nair, who scored just seven runs in his debut innings, almost had another low score after he edged one from Chatara to the wicketkeeper. Fortunately for Karun Nair and India, the pacer had stepped over the line and gave him a reprieve. India were at 48/0 at the lunch break, and looked set for a ten-wicket victory before Chibhabha ended Rahul’s innings for 33. Rayudu joined Karun Nair at the crease, and the duo formed a fifty-run partnership to take India to the brink of a victory. Although Karun Nair fell two runs away from the win, Manish Pandey smashed a four in the first ball he faced to guide India to an eight-wicket victory. 

Also read - Is KL Rahul the long term replacement for Shikhar Dhawan ?

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