India (182/4) defeat Zimbabwe (159/6) by 23 runs to take a lead of 2-1 in the 5-match T20I series

[Cricket Warrior]

After a humiliating defeat in the first T20I of the series, India (IND) bounced back to stun Zimbabwe (ZIM) in the second match, winning by a massive 100 runs. Young opener Abhishek Sharma stole the spotlight with a quick century, while Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rinku Singh also impressed. Gaikwad remained unbeaten with 77 runs, and Rinku scored an unbeaten 48, helping India post a formidable total of 234 runs in the second T20I.

India will aim to carry this momentum into the third T20I. While Yashasvi Jaiswal might have to wait for his opportunity to break into the squad, Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube are expected to replace Dhruv Jurel and Sai Sudharsan, respectively. Among the bowlers, Mukesh Kumar and Avesh Khan delivered sensational performances, and overall, India would be pleased with their current standing.

On the other hand, Zimbabwe has significant room for improvement. Much of their success hinges on skipper Sikandar Raza, which needs to change. Despite conceding a lot of runs in the last match, their bowling unit shows promise and has the potential to bounce back, as they did in the first T20I.


Zimbabwe Squad: Innocent Kaia, Wessly Madhevere, Brian Bennett, Dion Myers, Sikandar Raza(c), Johnathan Campbell, Clive Madande(w), Wellington Masakadza, Luke Jongwe, Blessing Muzarabani, Tendai Chatara, Brandon Mavuta, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Faraz Akram, Antum Naqvi

India Squad: Shubman Gill(c), Abhishek Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, Rinku Singh, Dhruv Jurel(w), Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Tushar Deshpande, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shivam Dube


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[jnaveen1980]

Need more new talents showing up. Bowling is really annoying the hell out of me. So many choices could have been tested here. They went with garbage options. Regardless of what they do here, one can safely say they are not good enough against all opposition.

 

[Vikram1989]

Jaiswal will be in as opener and gaikwad has to play at 4.its effectively showdown between him and Gill for the next anchor role at 3

 

[sweep_shot]

Can Zimbabwe make it 2-1? It can really spice up the series.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Jaiswal will be in as opener and gaikwad has to play at 4.its effectively showdown between him and Gill for the next anchor role at 3

Gaikwad is the anchor right now. Gill doesn't have to be anchor. But after he found his straps again in Tests he has become conservative again. It is the adaptability issue, not the ability issue.

 

[AMSS]

Sad that Parag might be left out.

 

[sweep_shot]

Sad that Parag might be left out.

Why? Injured?

 

[Dhakar Pola]

Let's see 3rd match what can benett and Campbell do. Also excited to see another Sharma fire

 

[sweep_shot]

Let's see 3rd match what can benett and Campbell do. Also excited to see another Sharma fire

Zimbabwe seems to have some good young batters. Madhevere, Bennett etc.

I was impressed with Bennett.

 

[Vikram1989]

Gaikwad is the anchor right now. Gill doesn't have to be anchor. But after he found his straps again in Tests he has become conservative again. It is the adaptability issue, not the ability issue.

Gill in free flow will be a huge advantage for us instead of a stat padder especially after the abhishek and jaiswal opening.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Zimbabwe should give a tough time to India but I think this is India's game to win. Really want to see how Abhishek performs after that century he made in last game. Exciting player he is.

 

[giri26]

Why? Injured?

Because Samson and Jaiswal might have arrived to join the team for the last 3 games. So mostly 2 players have to miss out. Sai Sudharsan and Parag are the obvious choices from the last game.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Secretly i hoped Paragh play an innings of substance. He is seriously talented. Very powerful striker. Doesn't really need big backlift, wind up to hit sixes.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Zimbabwe vs India, 3rd T20I:

India have won the toss and have opted to bat

Teams:

Zimbabwe (Playing XI): Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wessly Madhevere, Brian Bennett, Dion Myers, Sikandar Raza(c), Johnathan Campbell, Clive Madande(w), Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani, Tendai Chatara

India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson(w), Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed

 

[MANU ROY]

Gill will get lots of hate if he continue to open

 

[AMSS]

Opened cricinfo. Some crazy XI being suggested by Indian fans.

 

[Red-Indian]

Looks like it's an assault by Gill and Jaiswal. The big boys (relatively speaking) in the team have come out to play.

 

[AMSS]

Looks like it's an assault by Gill and Jaiswal. The big boys (relatively speaking) in the team have come out to play.

Yes, some assault with a RR of under 9

 

[Hellion]

Very poor decision drop Parag. No need for Rutu and Gill in same team.

 

[Monday Morning]

Jaiswal
Abhishek
Pant
Parag
SKY
Hardik
Axar
Washington
Arshdeep
???
???

This should be India's XI from hereon. Gill and Gaikwad don't cut in T20Is I'm afraid, despite decent IPL numbers.

If Mayank Yadav can be rehabilitated, then he makes the XI with perhaps one of the KKR seamers.

 

[Devadwal]

They were 49 from 4 over.

What happened in next 4 hour ??

Playing so slow

 

[Devadwal]

I really hate this stat padding by Gill and rituraj.

They don't deserve a place in T20 team

 

[Vikram1989]

Shameless statpadding by Gill.gaikwad should not have went in now to bat.rinku or dube should have stepped in to up the ante.laxman is completely devoid of any imagination

 

[Cover Drive Six]

We can't play both Gill and Ruturaj in the final XI; both are accumulators. Only one should play. I can foresee a future with too many accumulators in the team—lol , we'll struggle in tournaments with this approach.

I don't see a single promising pacer among these youngsters. It's better to continue with Siraj and Arshdeep rather than playing with useless Khans and Khaleels.

 

[Rana]

Gill doing same as Babar?

Dropped centurion from last game to 3 and opened himself with Jaiswal?!

 

[Devadwal]

We can't play both Gill and Ruturaj in the final XI; both are accumulators. Only one should play. I can foresee a future with too many accumulators in the team—lol , we'll struggle in tournaments with this approach.

I don't see a single promising pacer among these youngsters. It's better to continue with Siraj and Arshdeep rather than playing with useless Khans and Khaleels.

Arshdeep and bumrah is not going anywhere at least for five more years .

 

[BouncerGuy]

LOL at gill for this statpadding. Abhishek sent down for his own place as an opener.

 

[Devadwal]

Both these idiots playing for a spot.

 

[jiduguravindra]

Gill doing same chawlain as Babar?

Dropped centurion from last game to 3 and opened himself with Jaiswal?!

While abhi was attacking, he is happily taking singles without even trying to hit boundaries. Selfish stat padding innings from gill

 

[Devadwal]

Gill doing same as Babar?

Dropped centurion from last game to 3 and opened himself with Jaiswal?!

Once world champion players back then there will be no place for these stat paddlers .

Jasiwal
Abhishek
Pant
Sky
Rinku
Hardik

 

[Vikram1989]

Gill doing same as Babar?

Dropped centurion from last game to 3 and opened himself with Jaiswal?!

Gill wants opening spot and he doesn't want abhishek to give blazing start along with jaiswal just before gambhir's arrival.He made a fool of himself with his choice and statpadding

 

[Vikram1989]

Once world champion players back then there will be no place for these stat paddlers .

Jasiwal
Abhishek
Pant
Sky
Rinku
Hardik

I will prefer sky at 3 otherwise too many left handers at the top.we can be more dynamic with next 3 batters

 

[FearlessRoar]

Five of the top six T20I totals in Harare have been scored against Zimbabwe.

 

[OldWarHorse]

Boring batting effort

 

[Champ_Pal]

Gill opened the innings and played a selfish innings. He needs find a place in middle order. Because of his ego, Abhiskek had to lose his opener spot.

I still don’t understand what selectors see in Avesh and Mukesh. Mediocre trundlers. There are better choices. But somehow they crawl back into the team.

This bowling attack reminds me of Dhoni’s era bowling. All trundlers .

 

[FearlessRoar]

Yashasvi Jaiswal: "It was really nice and I was really enjoying it. The wicket is double-paced, some balls are coming, some are not. But we managed very well. It is a good total. We had a good partnership from me and Shubman."

 

[jnaveen1980]

Jaiswal
Abhishek
Pant
Parag
SKY
Hardik
Axar
Washington
Arshdeep
???
???

This should be India's XI from hereon. Gill and Gaikwad don't cut in T20Is I'm afraid, despite decent IPL numbers.

If Mayank Yadav can be rehabilitated, then he makes the XI with perhaps one of the KKR seamers.

What the hell pant has done to warrant a place in the side.

 

[Dhakar Pola]

Any idea why Ind team mgmt played Sharma @3 after that blazing 100 last match?

Great to see jaiswal in the team. It should have been jaiswal and Sharma opening

 

[Vikram1989]

Any idea why Ind team mgmt played Sharma @3 after that blazing 100 last match?

Gill wants that opening slot and he knows he can't survive another abhishek blitz at top to achieve it.laxman was too dumb to allow it

 

[Red-Indian]

What the hell.pant has done to warrant a place in the side.

I think at this point, the idea of Rishabh Pant is greater than Pant himself - an aggressive left-handed Wicketkeeper batter.

He's clearly a better Test player (average of 44 at a strike rate of 74) than a T20I player (average of 23 at an anemic strike rate of 127). We could easily fall into the same trap Pakistan has done with Rizwan...excuse him his strike rate because he also brings keeping to the table. We should try a few players in that slot before we settle on an inconsistent anchor like him.

 

[Champ_Pal]

What the hell.pant has done to warrant a place in the side.

Exactly. Pant is no different to Ishan Kishan in T20's.

 

[Champ_Pal]

Gill wants that opening slot and he knows he can't survive another abhishek blitz at top to achieve it.laxman was too dumb to allow it

Gill is proving to be ultra selfish. He is not an opener. He should stick to No.3 and play the anchor role for the Indian team.

I hope Gambhir does not allow Gill to act like this in Srilankan series.

 

[Croma]

Not happy to see Abhishek Sharma at 3 and Gill at 2. Gill escaped criticism in the ODI world Cup, hope he cops some in this T20I series. Indian don't need no statpadders in their T20I squad.

 

[Hitman]

Zimbabwe seems to have some good young batters. Madhevere, Bennett etc.

I was impressed with Bennett.

Won't you call them favorites for this series?

 

[Croma]

WHat a screamer from Bishnoi. 3 down and game over.

 

[Champ_Pal]

Not happy to see Abhishek Sharma at 3 and Gill at 2. Gill escaped criticism in the ODI world Cup, hope he cops some in this T20I series. Indian don't need no statpadders in their T20I squad.

Gill was atrocious in 2023 WC. In the finals, KL and Kohli were made the scapegoats. Gill silently escaped through narrow galli.
Gill is very similar to Babar Azam. A brilliant talent individually. But when they open the innings, they kill the batting order with their slow and selfish play.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Gill wants that opening slot and he knows he can't survive another abhishek blitz at top to achieve it.laxman was too dumb to allow it

I don't think he is jealous of Abhishek. They have been best buddies since 2018. They both went to Yuvraj practiced batting together to enhance their hitting skill. They hooked up when GT met SRH. If anything he promotes Abhishek a lot by asking him to open the bowling.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Gill was atrocious in 2023 WC. In the finals, KL and Kohli were made the scapegoats. Gill silently escaped through narrow galli.
Gill is very similar to Babar Azam. A brilliant talent individually. But when they open the innings, they kill the batting order with their slow and selfish play.

There is no way Gill is as bad as Babar Azam. IN that dream year he was blitzing everyone apart. But his test form dipped. After hard yards he recaptured his test form. Now his T20 form is down. Even Jaiswal's T20 form is down after Test form took off. Gill has a very high ceiling. He is a total beast that was unlocked in 2023. But again in hibernation now. He will hit the straps pretty soon.

 

[Hellion]

Brian Bennett is impressive. More talent than all young batter in PAK/BD/SL type teams.

 

[Champ_Pal]

There is no way Gill is as bad as Babar Azam. IN that dream year he was blitzing everyone apart. But his test form dipped. After hard yards he recaptured his test form. Now his T20 form is down. Even Jaiswal's T20 form is down after Test form took off. Gill has a very high ceiling. He is a total beast that was unlocked in 2023. But again in hibernation now. He will hit the straps pretty soon.

I was comparing Gill to Babar in T20's. Both are inefficient openers who struggle to hit big in Power play. But they can still put decent numbers over a span of time. Just not good enough to open in the modern game.

 

[Champ_Pal]

Brian Bennett is impressive. More talent than all young batter in PAK/BD/SL type teams.

He does look very talented. Got out to a brilliant catch by Bishnoi.

 

[Champ_Pal]

Zimbabwe crowd look like they are high on some good Mushrooms.

They love their cricket for sure. Too bad, their team is trash.

 

[Vikram1989]

I hope Gambhir does not allow Gill to act like this in Srilankan series.

I don't think Gill and Gaikwad gets a place in t20s.They are statpadding purposefully for the future .
Jaiswal
Abhishek
Sky
Pant/some performing wk
Rinku
Pandya
Washi
Axar
Kd
Siraj/Arshdeep/Mayank
Bunrah

 

[Statpadder Inc]

They hooked up

What

 

[Vikram1989]

They both went to Yuvraj practiced batting together to enhance their hitting skill.

We don't know what he will do if there is only one spot remaining rt ?Pls chk post no 53, I don't think he can play at one down when sky or Pant are available. In his first press conference in zimbabwe, he said he wants to play as opener only.

 

[Champ_Pal]

I don't think Gill and Gaikwad gets a place in t20s.They are statpadding purposefully for the future .
Jaiswal
Abhishek
Sky
Pant/some performing wk
Rinku
Pandya
Washi
Axar
Kd
Siraj/Arshdeep/Mayank
Bunrah

I still feel Parag should get in the team somehow. He is too good to miss out. At the least Parag should be in the traveling 14 or 15.

 

[jnaveen1980]

I was comparing Gill to Babar in T20's. Both are inefficient openers who struggle to hit big in Power play. But they can still put decent numbers over a span of time. Just not good enough to open in the modern game.

Gill has certain weaknesses. Definitely not hitting big sixes is one of them. Moving balls, left arm spinners. As i said it is very hard to play well in all 3 formats at the same time. Sometimes when form in one format goes up form in other format goes down.

 

[Red-Indian]

Now we see why they couldn't bowl Dube in the World Cup.

 

[globetrotter]

Dube is worst bowler, he should be asked to return India and play Ranji

 

[Croma]

Arrived to see ZImboks playing decently.. Nice!

Zimbabwe need 73 runs in 30 balls.

Impossible to win, but good fight

 

[Croma]

Now we see why they couldn't bowl Dube in the World Cup.

He showed us in the T20 WC itself why he shouldn't bowl.

 

[Croma]

WHy is Khaleel bowling? SUndar and Bishnoi have an over each

(I am just checking commentary)

 

[HARKS]

Sundar must be our 5th bowler and all-rounder, this team don't have any balance
How the hell this fake all-rounder dube is in the team , Vijay shankar , Dube these 2 are perfect quota or emotional selections
Almost on par with shadab khan and ifti Chacha selection for pakistan

 

[Croma]

Perfect comment in cricinfo "AJ: "Abhishek, Yashasvi and Tilak (when he is fit) should seriously consider honing their bowling. There are at least 6-7 players eying for top 3 spots in the team and it is their secondary skill which will give them edge .""

Indian batters need to develop bowling skill.

 

[Vikram1989]

He showed us in the T20 WC itself why he shouldn't bowl.

Dube gave 30 runs in an over in t20 in nz

 

[Vikram1989]

Nitish kumar from srh should be preferred over dube Saab.Nitish is young ,he can bowl at 135 and a good hitter .fraud dube should be thrown out

 

[ChennaiFan]

Ruturaj played well today. He is a good batter for one down.

 

[Red-Indian]

He showed us in the T20 WC itself why he shouldn't bowl.

Did he bowl in the T20WC? I must've missed it.

 

[Croma]

Did he bowl in the T20WC? I must've missed it.

One over Vs USA was enough for management to know he level

 

[Croma]

I might joke a lot about Dube, but his innings in WC finals is much appreciated.

 

[globetrotter]

Ruturaj played well today. He is a good batter for one down.

In last 2 matches Ruturaj played very well, india needs cool headed batsman Who can play according to situation

 

[Vikram1989]

I might joke a lot about Dube, but his innings in WC finals is much appreciated.

I felt sa messed it big time by not bowling bouncers to him.Aus must have done it for sure

 

[Dhakar Pola]

I am disappointed with Campbell so far. This guy is much more thalented than the performance he showed so far

 

[ChennaiFan]

Washington Sundar, and Hardik Pandya are the two good allrounders we have. Others need to step up.

 

[Ab Fan]

Sad that Parag might be left out.

He is competing with Shivam Dube for a place. Both can bowl part time. There is Abhishek Sharma also who might get ahead of both although his position will be top order but if he can bowl, then they can play him and let Pandya come one position down in the main team.

Jaiswal
Abhishek
Gill
SKY
Pant/Samson
Dube/Parag
Pandya
Axar
Bumrah
Arshdeep
Kuldeep

 

[ChennaiFan]

I am disappointed with Campbell so far. This guy is much more thalented than the performance he showed so far

After you mentioned about Johnathan Campbell a few days ago, I was eager to see him how he bats. But he got out cheaply and didn't provide us a chance to watch him. Hopefully, he makes a big score in the next two games.

 

[Vikram1989]

He is competing with Shivam Dube for a place. Both can bowl part time. There is Abhishek Sharma also who might get ahead of both although his position will be top order but if he can bowl, then they can play him and let Pandya come one position down in the main team.

Jaiswal
Abhishek
Gill

We need rinku, a very good finisher

 

[MP2011]

Abhishek Sharma is not much of a bowler so batting is all he has got.

 

[MP2011]

Bishnoi was expensive in this game but he (along with Washington) must always be preferred over Chahal who is not good enough to be a cricketer in this day and age.

Also, Bishnoi has taken some blinders in his short career something which Chahal can't even dream about.

 

[Vikram1989]

Abhishek Sharma is not much of a bowler so batting is all he has got.

I think abhishek should bowl regularly and improve himself as next wc is in india.He can bowl well on a helpful pitch.he got a man of the match for his bowling in ipl.