Harare: Sikandar Raza’s (115, 95b, 9×4, 3×6) lion-hearted effort took Zimbabwe on the cusp of a famous victory against India here Monday. However, India held their nerves to pull off a 13-run win in the third ODI and complete a series sweep. At one point the final game of the series too was heading India’s way until Raza brought Zimbabwe back into the contest with the support of Brad Evans (28, 36b, 2×4).
The duo shared a 104-run stand off 77 balls for the eighth wicket to raise hopes of a memorable result against their mighty opponents. However, Raza fell to a brilliant catch by Shubman Gill in the penultimate over, as India scraped through.
It was Gill who (130, 97b, 15×4, 1×6) had set up the game for India as he smashed his maiden international ODI hundred to take the visitors to 289 for eight. Zimbabwe’s innings ended at 276 in 49.3 overs.
Gill, who reached a major career milestone more than three years after making his India debut, shared a 140-run stand with Ishan Kishan (50, 61b, 5×4) after the visitors decided to bat for the first time in the series.
Deepak Chahar (2/75) once again impressed with the new ball while left-arm spinner Axar Patel (2/30) got welcome wickets in the middle overs. He was well-supported by Kuldeep Yadav (2/38).
Chahar got his first wicket with an in-swinger as Innocent Kaia (6) was trapped while charging down the wicket. The Indians were convinced that the ball hit the pad first and went for a review that turned out to be successful.
Though Zimbabwe kept losing wickets regularly, the seasoned Raza stood strong before completing his third hundred in the last six innings. The crowd got more involved when Raza smashed Shardul Thakur for three fours in the 39th over that eventually yielded 20 runs.
Opting to bat for the first time in the series, India did not have the most fluent of starts as they struggled to 63 for one in 15 overs.
Both the seasoned openers – skipper KL Rahul (30, 46b, 1×4, 1×6) and Shikhar Dhawan (40, 68b, 5×4) – would be disappointed at not being able to convert their starts.
Coming back from a long injury break, Rahul had an ideal opportunity to get back into groove ahead of the Asia Cup T20. He played on to a length ball off medium pacer Evans (5/54) who ended up taking five wickets for the first time.
The first hour proved to be tricky for the batters here but with so much experience under their belt, both Dhawan and Rahul should have gone on to make big ones.
Barring the stand between Gill and Kishan, not much stood out from the Indian innings. Shubman Gill, who made his ODI comeback with the series against the West Indies, was a treat to the eye during his innings. The 22-year-old played shots all around, with his straight drives and cover drives standing out. Gill had a few nervous moments in the 90s before he reached the milestone.
Brief scores
India 289 for 8 (Shubman Gill 130, Ishan Kishan 50, Brad Evans 5/54) beat Zimbabwe 276 all in 49.3 overs (Sikandar Raza 115, Avesh Khan 3/66, Axar Patel 2/30, Kuldeep Yadav 2/38) by 13 runs.