press trust of india
Harare, July 19: India’s quest to maintain a clean slate in their short cricket tour of Zimbabwe went up in smoke as they suffered a 10-run loss to the hosts in the second and final Twenty20 international here Sunday.
Chasing 146 for win, India were looking down the barrel at 69 for five in nine overs. Stuart Binny (24, 23, 2×4) and debutant Sanju Samson (19, 24b, 1×4) played cameos, but the visitors still fell short of the required target. For Zimbabwe, Graeme Cremer (3/18) bowled well while Sean Williams (1/31), Taurai Muzarabani (1/23) and Chris Mpofu (1/26) shared three wickets between them.
Earlier, Indian bowlers produced an impressive performance to restrict Zimbabwe to 145 for seven, riding on Chamu Chibhabha’s (67, 51b, 9×4) fourth T20I half-century.
India suffered an early blow, losing skipper Ajinkya Rahane (4) who was run out only in the third ball. Vijay (13, 11b, 1×6) and Robin Uthappa (42, 25b, 9×4) then added 53 runs in 34 balls before the former was sent packing by leg-spinner Cremer, who beat him for pace and toppled his off-stump in the seventh over.
In the eighth over, Sean Williams bowled and caught Uthappa, who was looking good till then. Jadhav too was run out when Muzarabani produced a direct hit as India lost half their side in nine overs.
Binny and Samson raised hopes with a 36-run partnership, but the former was sent back into the hut by a stunning catch by Chibhabha and it marked an end of India’s hope for clean sweep.
However, Indian skipper Ajinkya Rahane credited the visitors for their stunning victory. “They have overpowered us in almost all departments. We lost wickets continuosly. That’s why pressure was built. But overall I’m happy with my boys,” Rahane stated after the match.
Scorecard
Zimbabwe innings:
Hamilton Masakadza c Uthappa b Sandeep 19, Chamu Chibabha b Bhuvneshwar 67, Sikandar Raza c Samson b Sharma 8, Sean Williams c & b Patel 17, Charels Coventry lbw b Binny 4, Craig Ervine b Bhuvneshwar 7, Malcolm Waller n o 6, Prosper Utseya c Patel b Sharma 1, Graeme Cremer n o 0. Extras (b-5, lb-1, nb-1, w-9): 16, Total (for seven wickets in 20 overs): 145. Fall: 1-28, 2-48, 3-85, 4-113, 5-132, 6-139, 7-142. Bowling: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 4-0-26-2, Sandeep Sharma 4-0-39-1, Struart Binny 2-0-14-1, Mohit Sharma 4-0-28-2, Murali Vijay 2-0-9-0, Axar Patel 4-0-23-1.
India Innings:
Ajinkya Rahane r o 4, Murali Vijay b Cremer 13, Robin Uthappa c & b Williams 42, Manish Pandey lbw b Cremer 0, Kedar Jadhav r o 5, Sturat Binny c Chibhabha c Cremer 24, Sanju Samson c Waller b Mpofu 19, Axar Patel c Williams b Muzarabani 13, Bhuvneshwar Kumar r o 9, Mohit Sharma n o 3, Sandeep Sharma n o 1, Extras (b-1, w-1): 2, Total (for nine wickets in 20 overs): 135, Fall: 1-4, 2-57, 3-57, 4-61, 5-69, 6-105, 7-117, 8-124, 9-131.
Bowling: Prosper Utseya 3-0-18-0, Taurai Muzarabani 3-0-23-1, Chris Mpofu 3-0-26-1, Chamu Chibhabha 1-0-9-0, Sean Williams 4-0-31-1, Graeme Cremer 4¬-0-18-3, Sikandar Raza 2-0-9-0.