Sunday, July 14, saw the fifth and final T20I of the series between hosts Zimbabwe (ZIM) and visiting Team India (IND) at the famed Harare Sports Club in Harare. Interestingly, because the Men in Blue have already won the series, this game was supposedly a dead rubber for them.
Zimbabwean captain Sikandar Raza encouraged the young Indian team to bat first after winning the toss. Intriguingly enough, Raza chose to start the hosts’ bowling game but ultimately found himself recruited by an undesirable club. Notably, Yashasvi Jaiswal, the stunning opener, was in a foreboding mood when he hit the spinner for two straight sixes off the game’s first delivery, which was a “No ball.” Jaiswal, thus, wrote history by becoming the first batter in men’s T20I history to score 13 runs off of a single legitimate delivery.
But Raza pulled off a fantastic comeback, clean-striking Jaiswal (12 off 5 balls). The tourists would have liked to celebrate Team India’s explosive start thanks to young Jaiswal, but Zimbabwe produced some outstanding bowling to hold the visitors in check. India thus lost two more wickets in short succession during the game’s powerplay phase in Abhishek Sharma (14 off 11 balls) and captain Shubman Gill (13 off 14 balls). The Indian team was trailing 40/3 at that point.
After that, Team India’s seasoned player Sanju Samson arrived at the crease and started to steady the ship. Together with Riyan Parag (22 off 24 balls), who provided solid support from the other end, the World Champion scored a smart fifty (58 off 45 balls) to help stitch together an important 65-run stand. As a result, the Men in Blue recovered, and all-rounder Shivam Dube added the finishing touch with a crucial cameo (26 off 12 balls), helping India record 167/6.
The two most impressive ball players for the hosts were speedsters Richard Ngarava (1/29) and Blessing Muzarabani (2/19). Zimbabwe’s response was appallingly slow to get going as pacer Mukesh Kumar again gave the hosts an early scare with the third delivery of the run chase. Once more, Kumar scored by removing Brian Bennett. Soon after, as the hosts continued to lose wickets often, Washington Sundar, a valiant offspinner, and Shivam Dube joined the fray.
Also Read: Rinku Singh exclaimed, “God’s plan,” after his win of the “Best Fielder Medal” for the Zimbabwe series
As Zimbabwe faltered to 87/5 in 13.4 overs, Dube added the cherry on top with a masterful run-out that sent Sikandar Raza packing as half the team was back in the hut. Ultimately, in an attempt to keep the hosts in the hunt, all-rounder Faraz Akram tried to show some resistance with his crucial knock (27 off 13 balls). However, it was not to be as Team India won the T20I series 4-1 and the match by 42 runs thanks to another strike from Mukesh Kumar in the penultimate over.
Meanwhile, here’s how the fans reacted to the fifth T20I between Zimbabwe and India:
In this series :
Best Indian Batter – Jaiswal
Best Indian Bowler – Mukesh Kumar
Best Zimbabwe Batter – D Myers
Best Zimbabwe Bowler – Muzarbani#ZIMvIND
— VK45 🇮🇳 (@sportslovervk45) July 14, 2024
INDIA SEALS THE T20I SERIES AGAINST ZIMBABWE BY 4-1.
– A dominating performance by the young boys after 0-1. 🇮🇳#ZIMvIND#ShubhmanGill #SanjuSamson pic.twitter.com/ZGF08IsdxS
— KRISHNA TIWARI (@krishnatiwadi12) July 14, 2024
Congratulations Team India For Winning T20I Series Against Zimbabwe With 4-1 🇮🇳
Next Target Sri Lanka….🔥#TeamIndia #ZIMvIND #INDvsZIM pic.twitter.com/4jXALbDGuA
— Shivam Dubey (@ShivamDubey45) July 14, 2024
#ZIMvsIND 💥 DONE & DUSTED! The young side led by Shubman Gill clinched the T20I series against Zimbabwe 4️⃣-1️⃣.
📷 Pics belong to the respective owners • #ZIMvIND #ZIMvsIND #TeamIndia #BharatArmy #COTI #AnantAmbani #AnantRadhikaCelebration #AnanyaPanday #AnantwedsRadhika… pic.twitter.com/H3bz9Ch0hR
— Ikram Khan (@IkramKhan7375) July 14, 2024
इंडिया won by 42 रन ,सीरीज़ 4 ,-1 से जीत।#ZIMvIND#Indian2Disaster #SupremeCourt #SanjuSamson #IndvsPakWCL2024 pic.twitter.com/3TlfoQBLmu
— obaid khan (@KhanObaid795) July 14, 2024
Four Win in a row India win the series by 4-1
42 run win in the 4th T20 #ZIMvIND pic.twitter.com/sjONeImRpy
— Cricksin (@QaziNaqvi) July 14, 2024
This Pakistan Born 🤡 Sikandar Raza after winning 1st match celebrated like they have won the World Cup 😂😂
India hammered this pakistani’s team by 1-4 after that 🇮🇳💪#ZIMvIND pic.twitter.com/9S4su0QD3K
— Chota Don (@The_ChotaDon) July 14, 2024
A fitting end to the series 🙌🇮🇳
Well played, boys 💙#ZIMvIND #MumbaiMeriJaan #MumbaiIndians pic.twitter.com/OjbkCEPmRM
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) July 14, 2024
That’s a wrap for the #ZIMvIND T20I series with #TeamIndia finishing strong! 🥳🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/haAX98mQ6y
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) July 14, 2024
If Chicken Dinner with 0 kills has a face: 🔥👑#ShubmanGill #ZIMvIND pic.twitter.com/y8F7BynNFK
— Chota Don (@The_ChotaDon) July 14, 2024
Riyan Parag said”” Sanju Bhai kept talking with me and he told me let’s build a RR partnership here!!!#ZIMvIND #ShubmanGill pic.twitter.com/t7YLpdiQ1n
— Cricketman (@Manojy9812) July 14, 2024
This duo should be credited for the series win! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/xmhCj7IRua
— Manmohit Singh (@ManmohitSandhu) July 14, 2024
India complete four wins in a row to end the T20I series on a high 👏
📝 #ZIMvIND: https://t.co/naG0RWx8eZ pic.twitter.com/oZbDZYo1li
— ICC (@ICC) July 14, 2024
🇮🇳💥 DONE & DUSTED! The young side led by Shubman Gill clinched the T20I series against Zimbabwe 4️⃣-1️⃣.
📷 Pics belong to the respective owners • #ZIMvIND #ZIMvsIND #TeamIndia #BharatArmy #COTI🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/1PM0XL327f
— The Bharat Army (@thebharatarmy) July 14, 2024
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