IND vs ZIM T20: India Zim, Zap, zoom to series win

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Power-packed fifties by Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma worked well with bowlers’ diligence as India trumped Zimbabwe by 90 runs in the second T20I to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series here on Saturday.

Chasing 220 was never going to be easy for the Africans and the fate of the match was sealed when they lost five wickets inside nine overs. Eventually they were bundled out for 129, well short of India’s 219-5, which was constructed around Kishan’s 81 off 44 balls and Tilak’s unbeaten 60 off 29 balls.

The series win will also give new T20I skipper Shreyas Iyer a big relief after losing two consecutive series against Ireland (0-2) and England (0-4). “I feel exultant, especially with the way we won today [Saturday]. It was a comprehensive victory and a brilliant contribution from each and every player,” Iyer said.

India skipper Shreyas Iyer

The skipper also praised Kishan and Tilak for their half-centuries, “I think the way Ishan and Tilak played was outstanding. A few of the shots they played were rakanaka [beautiful], and they were really pleasing to the eye. At the start, I felt anything between 180 and 200 would have been a par score, but we ended up getting 220, which was the icing on the cake. So, yeah, brilliant contributions from both of them,” he said.

Zimbabwe started the hunt in earnest through Brian Bennett (32 off 19 balls), who creamed debutant pacer Yash Thakur for a six and four in a row. But Thakur (2-30) extracted a quick revenge, as an attempted ramp did not go past wicketkeeper Kishan.

Once the first blood was drawn, Indian bowlers did not let the Zimbabwe batters off the hook. There were little pockets of fight such as 20s by Ryan Burl and Tadi Marumani, but nothing good enough to challenge the Indian bowlers for a sustained period.

Even part-timers Tilak and Abhishek Sharma (3-17) found themselves in the list of wicket-takers as India completed the stroll. But circumstances that led to the employment of part-timers might just give India some worries. Pacer Prince Yadav (2-10 in 1.2 overs) walked off clutching his hamstring, casting a shadow over such a dominant victory and raising another question about the team’s injury management system.

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