There were no fireworks from Hamilton Masakadza today for Zimbabwe to bank on as Sran doubled his efforts in the fifth over with a full delivery that had a hint of inward movement.
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A dominant, record-breaking ten-wicket win over Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club on Monday allowed India to draw level in the T20 worldwide series, leaving both teams with all to play for in the final match at the same venue on Wednesday (June 22). Chasing a paltry target of 100, openers KL Rahul (47 not out) and Mandeep Singh (52 not out) got the team over the line with 35 balls to spare. Incidentally, this was India’s first 10-wicket win in this format.
Indian pacers, especially, Barinder Sran, who was playing his maiden T20I, and Jasprit Bumrah bowled their heart out to restrict opponents for mere 99 runs.
Sran finished with excellent figures in his quota of four overs, which is the second best globally.
This haul made him the second Indian bowler to take a four-wicket haul on debut, after Pragyan Ojha’s 4/21 against Bangladesh in Trent Bridge in the 2009 World Twenty20.
The duo of Sran and Bumrah picked up seven wickets between them while giving away just 21 runs in eight economical overs.
India is touring Zimbabwe with a relatively young team under the guidance of MS Dhoni, and easily swept the one-day global series 3-0 before a last-ball loss in the opening T20 on Saturday.
Zimbabwe were left bamboozled by Sran’s opening spell. Zimbabwe could not find a single run off the bat in nine balls. Mandeep sealed the issue for India when he cut Neville Madziva for a boundary in the first delivery of the 14th over.
India needed a boundary off the last ball but Madziva knew what to do to hand Zimbabwe a memorable victory as they edged closer to an historic series win over the Asian giants.
IPL regulars like Pandey (48) and Axar Patel (18) did their bit to set it up but when it mattered the most, the little known Zimbabwean boys, none of whom have franchise contract in private leagues did it for their country.
Sran was adjudged the Man of the Match for his four for 10 from four overs. Jasprit Bumrah picked three wickets towards the end and that further dented Zimbabwe.
All-rounder Rishi Dhawan, representing India for the first time since the Australia tour and making his T20 global debut, put up an ordinary effort leaking 42 runs in four overs. Bumrah was the most successful bowler with two wickets while Dhawan, Patel and Chahal chipped in with one wicket apiece.
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Openers KL Rahul and Mandeep Singh shared an unbeaten century-run stand to chase down the total without any fuss. Series level at 1-1.
