A day after suffering a humiliating 13-run defeat, Shubman Gill’s India bounced back with the biggest win, in terms of runs, against Zimbabwe on Sunday at Harare Sports Club. Young Abhishek Sharma announced his arrival on the big stage with a breathtaking 46-ball century as India pummelled Zimbabwe by a whopping 100 runs.
The young Indian side didn’t carry the baggage of the shocking defeat in the series opener as left-handed opener Abhishek blended power with grace for a scintillating 100-run knock that propelled India to a massive 234 for two on a track where batting wasn’t exactly easy. The ask was already stiff and Indian bowlers got breakthroughs at regular intervals to bowl out Zimbabwe for 134 in 18.4 overs to set the record straight.
Captain Gill was happy with his team, stating that his team couldn’t handle the pressure in Saturday’s fixture.
“Very happy, great to be back on the winning note again. With the way Abhishek and Rutu batted, it was not easy especially in the powerplay, with the ball moving around but Abhi and Rutu built the innings brilliantly. Yesterday, it was more about not being able to handle the pressure, it’s a young side and many of them are new to international exposure,” Gill said at the post-match presentation.
“It was actually good to have pressure in the first game and we knew what to expect coming into this game. We have got three matches to go and we are looking forward to them. It’s always good to have more options rather than not having options,” he added.
The poor fielding effort also hurt Zimbabwe as they also dropped Gaikwad’s catch, who took off from where Abhishek had left, creaming off 87 runs off 36 balls for the third wicket with Rinku Singh (48 not out off 22 balls), who also made merry with five huge sixes.
The total was India’s highest against Zimbabwe in T20 Internationals, surpassing the previous best of 186, a fitting comeback after an inexplicable batting collapse in the opening game.
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