IND vs ZIM 1st ODI: Shubman Gill, Shikhar Dhawan Power India to Comprehensive 10-wicket Win Over Zimbabwe

Openers Shubman Gill and Shikhar Dhawan powered India to a comprehensive 10-wicket win over Zimbabwe in the first ODI match at Harare Sports Club, Harare.

It was a dominant show from the visitors as they didn’t give any chance to Zimbabwe to bounce back in the game and comfortably took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Chasing the moderate target of 190, KL Rahul sacrificed his opening slot for in-form Shubman Gill and the young batter didn’t disappoint his skipper and remained unbeaten on 82 off 72 balls.

He continued his golden form with the bat and smashed 10 fours and a six to put the hosts on the backfoot. While veteran Shikhar Dhawan was very calm and composed during his 81-run* knock as he faced 113 balls. The southpaw struck nine fours to compliment his young opening partner.

Zimbabwe used eight bowling options in search of a wicket but they failed miserably as India won the match by 10 wickets in just 30.5 overs Gill was a bit rusty at the start of the innings but after facing 15 deliveries he looked in sublime form and played some gorgeous shots.

Earlier, Rahul won the toss and elected to bowl first and Deepak Chahar who was returning after recovering from injury dismissed Zimbabwe’s openers early as both of them got out in a similar fashion edging the ball to the wicketkeeper behind stumps.

None of the Zimbabwe batters looked comfortable during those opening overs as Chahar got a lot of deliveries to dart back late while some straightened after pitching. While Mohammed Siraj dismissed experienced campaigner Sean Williams on just 1 to hurt the hosts further. Chahar was too good for the Zimbabwean top-order as he also got the better of Wesley Madhevere on 5.

Chahar sustained a hamstring injury during West Indies T20I earlier this year and missed competitive cricket for almost six months. The 30-year-old looked in a good rhythm on his comeback to make a good case for himself for the upcoming T20 World Cup.

Meanwhile, Brad Evans (33) and Richard Ngarava (34) played some good cricketing shots during their 70-run stand for the ninth wicket to take Zimbabwe near the 200-run mark in Harare.

However, the hosts failed to put a challenging total in front of India as they were bundled out for 189 as Chahar, Prasidh Krishna and Axar Patel claimed three-wicket each.