India thump Zimbabwe to level 3-match series – Tourists bounce back from chastening defeat
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HARARE, June 20, (AFP): India bounced back from their chastening defeat to Zimbabwe over the weekend to thump the hosts by 10 wickets in the second Twenty20 international at Harare Sports Club on Monday and level the three-match series at 1-1.
Zimbabwe’s unexpected two-run victory in Saturday’s opener had suggested they might have turned a corner after a hopeless performance in the one-day series, in which they were whitewashed 3-0.
But on Monday they reverted to type with another feeble batting performance, scoring 99 for nine as India seamers Barinder Sran and Jasprit Bumrah shared seven wickets.
In reply, India’s openers KL Rahul and Mandeep Singh took advantage of a couple of dropped catches to knock off the target in just 13.1 overs.
“Obviously (Saturday) defeat was hurting, but we discussed a few points of what we needed to do, and I think we implemented them really well today,” said Singh.
Zimbabwe’s batsmen had led the way in victory, but on Monday they never got going as Sran picked up four wickets in seven deliveries to reduce the hosts to 28 for four.
Bumrah did the damage at the back of the innings, as he dismissed top scorer Peter Moor for 31 and danger man Elton Chigumbura for eight to record figures of 3 for 11.
Sran finished with 4 for 10 from his four overs – the second best figures by a bowler on Twenty20 international debut.
“The shot selection is something that myself and Lance Klusener are forever trying to correct,” said Zimbabwe interim coach Makhaya Ntini, who confirmed he was interested in taking the job on a full-time basis.
“We need to give them the understanding that you don’t win a game or score a hundred from one shot. If someone gets out before you, you need to be the one who takes charge of the game and correct the mistake that the other one has made.”
Faced with such a meagre target India’s openers had time to play themselves in, but it did not take long for the boundaries to start flowing.
Singh was dropped twice in his innings, and went on to finish unbeaten on 52 while Rahul was 47 not out.
“The wicket wasn’t easy for shot-making because the ball was keeping low a little,” said Singh.
“At the start I was trying to hit hard, because I generally play aggressively, but I watched Rahul and he asked me to calm down a little and try to time the ball. Slowly I controlled the nerves and then I was fine.”
The series decider takes place at the same venue on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has spoken of the shock he felt when Shaminda Eranga suffered a heart scare in Ireland.
Saturday saw Eranga come out to face the final ball of Sri Lanka’s innings in the second one-day international against Ireland in Malahide, but he did not bowl after feeling unwell in the interval and being taken to a Dublin hospital with what was later confirmed as an elevated heartbeat.
Sri Lanka won the fixture by 136 runs for a 2-0 series win over the Irish that set them up nicely for a five-match ODI series against England starting at Nottingham’s Trent Bridge ground on Tuesday.
But a miserable weekend for Eranga was compounded when the International Cricket Council announced on Sunday that he would miss the England series in any event after being found to have an illegal bowling action.
The nature of Eranga’s illness is similar to that which forced the early retirement of England batsman James Taylor in April, although there is no suggestion that Eranga’s heart problem could end his career.
For Mathews, Eranga’s illness was a bolt from the blue.
“He was warming up — and just before we went on the field, he said ‘something happened to me, can you touch my heart because it is beating fast?’,” Mathews told reporters at Trent Bridge on Monday.
“I felt something unusual, so I quickly called the physio (who) went for the doctor with him. It was a shocking incident.
“He’s (still) undergoing those tests (for) an elevated heartbeat.”
Last year’s World Cup saw Sri Lanka thrash England by nine wickets in Wellington.
But Eoin Morgan’s men have improved greatly as a white-ball side since the World Cup and earlier this year made it to the final of the World Twenty20 in India, where they were beaten in a last-over thriller by the West Indies.
“I don’t know if it’s a springboard, but it’s certainly a huge confidence-booster,” said England limited-overs captain Morgan.
Hopes are growing that Morgan’s team will be able to put up an improved showing in front of their own supporters at the 2019 World Cup in England.
“There’s a bit more expectation on us as a side, and it’s important to relish that expectation,” the Irishman added.
“We’re still at the beginning of building for what we hope will be a successful campaign in the 2019 World Cup.”
Zimbabwe vs India T20 scoreboard
HARARE, June 20, (AFP): Scoreboard for the second Twenty20 international between Zimbabwe and India on Monday:
ZIMBABWE
- Chibhabha c Rayudu b Sran…….. 10
- Masakadza b Sran…………………. 10
- Moor c Patel b Bumrah……………. 31
- Sikandar Raza c Rahul b Sran…………. 1
- Mutombodzi lbw b Sran…………….. 0
- Waller c Patel b Chahal…………… 14
- Chigumbura b Bumrah……………… 8
- Cremer c Rayudu b Kulkarni……….. 4
- Madziva b Bumrah………………….. 1
- Tiripano not out……………………… 11
- Muzarabani not out………………….. 0
Extras (4lb, 4w, 1nb)…………………… 9
Total (9 wkts, 20 overs)………………. 99
Fall of wickets: 1-14 (Chibhabha), 2-26 (Masakadza), 3-28 (Sikandar Raza), 4-28 (Mutombodzi), 5-57 (Waller), 6-75 (Moor), 7-81 (Chigumbura), 8-83 (Madziva), 9-91 (Cremer)
Bowling: Sran 4-0-10-4, Kulkarni 4-0-32-1, Patel 4-0-23-0, Chahal 4-1-19-1, Bumrah 4-0-11-3
INDIA
KL Rahul not out……………………….. 47
Mandeep Singh not out………………. 52
Extras (3w, 1nb)………………………… 4
Total (0 wkts, 13.1 overs)…………… 103
Did not bat: Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Axar Patel, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jasprit Bumrah, Barinder Sran, Yuzvendra Chahal
Bowling: Tiripano 3-0-11-0, Madziva 2.1-0-19-0, Muzarabani 2-0-17-0, Cremer 3-0-24-0, Chibhabha 2-0-23-0, Sikandar Raza 1-0-9-0
Toss: Zimbabwe
Umpires: Russell Tiffin (ZIM) and Langton Rusere (ZIM)
TV umpire: Jeremiah Matibiri (ZIM)
Match referee: Richie Richardson (WIS)
Result: India won by 10 wickets
Series: Three-match series is tied 1-1
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