For the second time in the history of T20I cricket, India secured a 10-wicket win in a match, both came against Zimbabwe, in Harare, eight years apart. On Saturday, at the Harare Sports Club, captain Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal forged an unbeaten 156-run opening stand to help India script an emphatic win against the Sikandar Raza-led home team. With the win, the visitors also took an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match contest, this winning the series as well.
Jaiswal, in particular, made an absolute mockery of the Zimbabwe attack, in the fourth T20I match of the series. The left-hander started off smashing Richard Ngarava for 15 runs in the first over of the chase, and never looked back. And Gill was happy to play the second fiddle during the entire partnership.
The two youngsters smashed 61 runs in the powerplay, where Jaiswal did the bulk of the scoring. Gill, who made a sluggish start to his knock, joined his partner shortly after, implying there was no solace for the Zimbabwe bowlers as India wrapped up the chase in just 15.2 overs.
Despite the emphatic win, Gill was savaged on social media, with fans labelling him “selfish” for denying Jaiswal a much-deserved century.
Notably, Jaiswal completed his half-century in just 29 balls, in the over after the powerplay, while Gill was on 13 off 10. The left-hander, who was part of India’s victorious T20 World Cup-winning side, powered through to 83 off 50 in the 14th over. With India still requiring 21 runs more to win, fans expected Gill, then in 48 off 34, to allow Jaiswal to complete his hundred. But the captain instead smashed a boundary and a six in the last six balls he faced to complete his fifty, thus denying his partner the milestone. Here is how fans reacted on social media…
Earlier in the match, Khaleel Ahmed picked up two wickets while debutant Tushar Deshpande and Shivam Dube snared one apiece as Zimbabwe were restricted to just 152 for seven in 20 overs. The spinners were fairly more economical, with the likes of Ravi Bishnoi, Abhishek Sharma and Washington Sundar having conceded at less than seven runs as over.
India will face Zimbabwe in the fifth an final T20I on Sunday at the same venue.
Hasibur Rahaman is a passionate sports journalist. He covers everything from cricket to field hockey, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis of sporting events, both within India and on the international stage.
