Abhishek Sharma era begins as India thump Zimbabwe in 2nd T20I in Harare

Young Indian team staged an emphatic comeback in the 5-match T20I series against Zimbabwe on Sunday, 7 July.

Led by Abhishek Sharma’s sensational century, India hammered Zimbabwe by 100 runs in the second T20I match in Harare. Zimbabwe were not in the game after the first 10 overs of the first innings. After conceding a record 234 runs, the hosts were bundled out for just 134 runs, courtesy of clinical bowling displays from Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi and Mukesh Kumar.

Zimbabwe had started their chase of 235 runs aggressively with Brian Bennett attacking early. Bennet hit Mukesh Kumar for a string of boundaries but fell to the same bowler after a spirited stay of just 9 balls. After Bennett’s 26-run innings, Zimbabwe lost a string of wickets, reducing themselves to 76/7 in the 12th over of the match. From there on, Luke Jongwe and opener Wessley Madhvere provided some resistance before the team ultimately got bowled out for 134 in 18.4 overs.

Ravi Bishnoi and Avesh Khan were unquestionably the best bowlers for India on the day. The former No. 1 T20I spinner finished with figures of 4-0-11-2, choking the ZIM batting in the middle overs, while on the other hand, Avesh brought in a barrage of short balls to trouble the opposition batters.

In fact, one of Avesh Khan’s lethal bouncers hit Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza on the helmet and popped into the hands of wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, to end the all-rounder’s stay at the crease. Avesh found able support from the leg spinner, who did not give Zimbabwe any breathing room on Sunday.

Apart from those two, Washington Sundar and Mukesh Kumar were amongst the wickets.

The match belonged to two India batters – Abhishek Sharma and Ruturaj Gaikwad. The duo had contrasting approaches to their innings but complemented each other well to help India register the highest-ever total against Zimbabwe in the T20I format.

While Abhishek started his innings with a massive six through the leg side, Ruturaj conceded 5 dot balls in the row after Shubman Gill’s early dismissal. Gaikwad continued his conservative approach in the two-paced pitch in Harare, while Abhishek tried to be as positive as he could in his innings.

The approach paid off for India as they dominated proceedings outside the powerplay, with Abhishek cutting loose in the middle overs, and Ruturaj putting in a dominant display in the final five overs of the innings.

With the win, India levelled the series 1-1 after two matches. The teams will take a short rest after playing on back to back days and will play the third match of the series on Wednesday, 10 July.

The Abhishek Sharma Show

After falling for a 4-ball duck on his debut with the Indian team, Abhishek Sharma did the most Abhishek Sharma thing ever. The 23-year-old started his innings with a six over deep square leg and put in a sensational batting display to score his maiden T20I hundred on Sunday. Abhishek took a little time to get his innings underway, scoring fifty off 33 balls. The opener ripped into the Zimbabwean spinners after the powerplay, notching up the next fifty runs in just 13 balls.

On the day, Abhishek hit 8 sixes and 7 boundaries. He tried to be aggressive from the very start of his innings and did not change his approach despite the two-paced nature of the Harare pitch.

The opener was fortunate in his innings as he was dropped in the 8th over when he was batting at 27. Sharma was especially aggressive in two particular overs. He smashed Dion Myers for 28 runs and then ripped into Wellington Masakazda with a 21-run over. Sharma reached his century hitting three back to back sixes but got out trying to hit the fourth one in the final ball of the 14th over.

Ruturaj Gaikwad’s Tribute to MS Dhoni

India batter Ruturaj Gaikwad gave a special tribute to MS Dhoni on Sunday. Gaikwad scored a lovely knock of 77* off 47 balls on the birthday of legendary MS Dhoni, who famously wore the No. 7 jersey for the Indian team. A knock of 77* on 7 July instantly gave rise to an incredible number of memes on the internet, who jokingly dubbed Gaikwad as the successor to the legendary CSK captain.

After being one of the many stars who failed to score in the opener of the series, Ruturaj and Abhishek Sharma added 137 runs together to guide India to a massive total of 234 runs.

“It was pretty tough, the first 15 balls I played, I didn’t even middle a single ball. The wicket was slightly tough, me and Abhishek talked that we should take our time and then go for our shots, and it worked,” Ruturaj said in the mid-innings interview.

A little needs to be said about Rinku Singh as well who bludgeoned his way to 48* off just 22 balls helping India reach their highest ever T20I total scored against Zimbabwe.