India vs Zimbabwe 2nd T20I 2024 Highlights: IND beat ZIM by 100 runs in Harare

Avesh Khan picks his third wicket of the afternoon it is a bouncer which does the damage. It is Muzharambani he picks. The crowd here was buzzing early the result did not pan out the way they wanted, however, they have witnessed a couple of scintillating games. 

Bishnoi picks his second wicket of the afternoon it is Mehdevere this time. The opener was one shining light for Zimbabwe in the game and he too has finally departed. What a comprehensive win this is turning out to be for India. 

It will be interesting to see what the team does once Yashasvi Jaiswal comes back into the side. Abhishek Sharma today scored a blistering ton here and he can bowl as well it might be hard for him to drop him after such a wonderful performance today. 

Riyan Parag has come into the attack. This is good from Shubman Gill he is using the opportunity to give his part-time bowlers a chance. Apparently, according to Mukund Abhishek do possess a carrom ball will he display his skill set is something to be seen.

Brilliant comeback from India today after the defeat yesterday. Right from the toss everything has gone Gill's way and his bowling changes too have been brilliant in the second innings. Zimbabwe had a good chance to carry the momentum which they built yesterday but their own fielding and poor bowling has brought them to their current predicimant. 

Bishnoi picks Madande. It is falling apart for Zimbabwe now here. Apart from the innings Bennett has played there has been not much from other batters. They just have struggled. Another wicket falls it is Masakdza this time who departs. 

Halfway through the innings Zimbabwe had lost five wickets now it was Washington Sundar who picked up the fifth wicket. Now Campbell who was struggling to do anything against spin was put out of his misery. 

The spinners have started well here for India. They are yet to pick a wicket but they have bowled a couple of tight overs. Once again both batters are unable to pick Bishnoi who predominantly bowls googlies. The run rate too is steadily going down for Zimbabwe.

Washington Sundar in the attack now as India introduces spin on both ends. After a dot, Madhevere cuts the second ball for a boundary!! Much-needed for Zimbabwe. Takes a single next and Campbell is on strike. 8 from the over ultimately.

Ravi Bishnoi int the attack now after taking a 4-wicket haul in the last match. Can he repeat his feat today? Excellent over as he gives away just 1 run.

The powerplay is done Zimbabwe has scored more than India did in the Powerplay but also they lost more wickets than India did. The challenge for Zimbabwe now starts as Ravi Bishnoi and Sundar who had wonderful games yesterday will be brought into attack.

Mukesh comes to bowl his third over and it turns out to be an expensive one. The idea from Shubman Gill was right as one more wicket here would open the floodgates and India would be into the tailenders of Zimbabwe. And mind you spinners are yet to come in who ruled the roost in the first game.

Avesh Khan comes in and picks a couple of wickets first it was Myers who tried to cut the ball in front of the square and was caught at cover then it was Sikandar Raza who was surprised by a sharp bouncer and gloved it to the keeper Jurel. Zimbabwe lost four in the first four overs here. 

Bennett was climbing onto Mukesh Kumar as well however, the bowler stuck to his gun and kept bowling hard lengths which bore the fruits of the final ball of an expensive over. He was batting exceptionally well Bennett and it is the last thing Zimbabwe wanted under the circumstances. 

Abhishek Sharma takes the second over and he is slammed for 19 runs. Bennet climbed onto the centurion today. This is the right choice from Zimbabwe batters too to go after the fifth bowler as India is playing one less specialist bowler today. 

Mukesh Kumar took the first over for India and picked up Kaia. The ball was bowled on hard length and the batter tried to pull and got the inside edge onto the stumps. It is the most horrible way Zimbabwe can start their batting innings here. 

India opener Abhishek Sharma slammed his maiden T20I hundred off 46 balls in his second outing against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club in Harare on Sunday.

Walking out to bat after India won the toss, Abhishek got off to a watchful start after the dismissal of skipper Shubman Gill before bringing up his half-century in 33 balls. (Read more)

The only positive thing for Zimbabwe is India is playing one specialist bowler less. Will it make a difference given the score they are chasing it should not. However, cricket is a funny game and if Zimbabwe can go after the Indian spinners it might put pressure on Shubman Gill the captain, and under pressure teams react funnily it will be a fascinating chase folks to stay with us. 

The last nine overs for India have yielded 139 runs. No matter what level of cricket you are playing and the standard of opposition it should not have happened. There were plenty of misfields and poor execution of deliveries that have brought Zimbabwe to its current predicament. 

This is getting bad to ugly for Zimbabwe here. Another expensive oer came of Chatara he tried everything in his skill to better Gaikwad but the batter had an answer to everything. Rinku and Gaikwad have now put the 50-run stand in which Gaikwad scored 30 runs off 10 balls. 

Ruturaj Gaikwad slams one through mid-wicket of Jongwe to get past his 50. He looked a bit rusty early on his innings however, he got his timing back once he reached around 30-mark. The strike rate too seems to have now picked up. This is already massive total for India here.

Muzarambani comes back into the attack and creates an opportunity as Gaikwad tries to pull him through mid-wicket and the fielder their tries to take the catch however, the ball goes through for a boundary. More misery here for the Zimbabwe team. 

Rinku Singh has been promoted here by India which is a good move as the left-hander did not have much of game time off late. However, it is not going to be easy for him to go after the bowling right from ball one he needs to give himself some time.

Abhishek Sharma hit three sixes in a row to get to his ton. He got them in just 46 balls and became the first Indian player to score a 100 against Zimbabwe. He scored a duck yesterday a century today what a turnaround for Abhishek. Right after scoring 100, he tried to play another big one and got the outside edge straight to the fine-leg fielder off Hamilton Masakdza.

Sikandar Raza did not how a good today as a bowler. He picked up three wickets yesterday and was Man Of the Match. Everything he did as captain too reaped results. But today all has gone against him and that is the nature of this format it is already looking like an uphill task for Zimbabwe to get these runs. 

The partnership between Gaikwad and Abhishek reached 100 runs. The left-hander looked like he was losing momentum in the middle of his innings around the 6th-10th over mark however, once the catch was dropped he decided he was going to play one way and more cautious approach.

Well, that is the over India wanted and Abhishek threatened to do right from the first one. 28 came of Myers over. Neither did he have the pace to trouble the batters nor did he have clever variations he kept banging the ball short at military medium and Abhishek Sharma feasted upon them.

Myers has been brought into the attack here. Sikandar Raza seems like is now looking for options to get a breakthrough. Wellington Maskadza did bowl quite a bit in the first game but today he is not yet to be seen. 

50 of the partnership has come up between Abhishek and Gaikwad with the former doing much of the heavy lifting. Zimbabwe needs to pick a couple of wickets here to pull India back. Given the number of batters still to come India is looking good to score around 160 mark at the moment.

Abhishek Sharma tried to bring in some momentum and hit Jongwe straight down however, got the toe end and the ball went up in the air but the long-on fielder dropped a sitter. This might be the moment where both Indian batters want to flick the switch. 

Gaikwad needs to get a move on here. India has plenty of batting depth today and Gaikwad is now sucking the momentum out of the innings because of his over-caution. He needs to get a couple of boundaries which will also reduce pressure on Abhishek Sharma.

It has been a sedate start to India in the Powerplay. While they have not lost as many wickets as yesterday they have not got to a flying start either. While Abhishek Sharma has been proactive with his shot-making Gaikwad has been circumspective.

Muzarambani has changed ends here and bowled another excellent over. Be it Gaikwad or Shubman Gill or Abhishek Sharma all have struggled to get the ball away when he was operating. The other bowlers also need to maintain the same pressure as Muzrambani if they want to restrict India to a low total.

Chatara started by hitting the good length here but there is not same amount on offer as it was yesterday. Hence he tried to bowl one full and bowled onto the pads of Gaikwad who flicked it for a boundary. The four will ease Gaikwad a bit as he was not able to get the ball away.

Abhishek Sharma has started well here. He is climbing onto the spinner Bennet early in the piece. He is showing the kind of aggression which he has for Sunrisers Hyderabad earlier this year in the Indian Premier League. Tendai Chatara is brought into the attack.

Muzharmbani picked the Indian skipper here in the second over. The ball was pitched up and Shubman Gill trying to go on top of mid-on got the bottom edge and ball went straight to the fielder. The Zimbabwe pacers have been very good yesterday and have started on a positive note today as well.

Bennet has taken the new ball for Zimbabwe like yesterday and he slipped in a short one Abhishek Sharma this time pulls it for a boundary and gets his first T20 international runs. It is a good start for India they have got 10 runs off it. 

Both batters have walked into the middle the conditions like yesterday are looking perfect for cricket. It is a used wicket it should be another low-scoring affair but we have to wait and see if it is going to be as low as yesterday. However, it is going to be another cracker of a game.

Same pitch that was used yesterday. The Indian players struggled to adapt to the conditions yesterday. Spinners bowled in the good length area. The wickets are coming from a back of a length on this pitch. The fuller the ball, batting becomes much easier.

Wessly Madhevere, Innocent Kaia, Brian Bennett, Sikandar Raza(c), Dion Myers, Johnathan Campbell, Clive Madande(w), Wellington Masakadza, Luke Jongwe, Blessing Muzarabani, Tendai Chatara

Shubman Gill(c), Abhishek Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sai Sudharsan, Riyan Parag, Rinku Singh, Dhruv Jurel(w), Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar

Looks like a summer wicket, the pitch will get better. We wanted to bowl first anyway. The changing room is relaxed and happy. Taking one game at a time, we are here for a reason, will try to get our job done. Blessing has been good, Chatara delivers for us. He has come right more often than not for the team.

Going to bat first, same wicket like yesterday. Best opportunity for us to bat. Looks dry, it's a nice sunny day. Need to improve our batting, Sudharsan comes in for Khaleel.

While much of their roadmap will be clear only after a new head coach takes over, India’s immediate focus is very much on Test cricket, especially the tour of Australia later this year. The Indian Express understands that keeping the gruelling schedule ahead, which will see them play 10 Tests between September to January, India are prepared to try out young guns in the T20Is and ODIs even for the tour of Sri Lanka that follows soon after the Zimbabwe trip.

Which means, unless the new head coach wants a full-strength squad, the selectors are planning to rest all the seniors till the home season which begins in the third week of September.

Though India have traditionally sent second-string squads for their off-season tour of Zimbabwe, the core of the team in Harare is expected to form the nucleus of the T20 side going forward. Like it has been the case before, at present the squad in Zimbabwe is again top-heavy with Jaiswal, Gill, Gaikwad and Abhishek – all openers – expected to bat out of position. “Rohit bhai and Virat bhai opened at the World Cup. I’m also an opener in the format. I would like to continue to open the batting in T20s,” Gill said.

However, having missed out on the T20 World Cup spot, with Jaiswal and Abhishek in the mix, Gill knows more than the runs it is the intent that would keep him in the frame. But for the time being, he can breathe easy as there is still plenty of time for culling as rotating players seem to be the focus point now. For the record, India have a whopping 30 T20Is and two IPLs to figure out the ideal resources before the next T20 World Cup in 2026.

Feel really happy about the win. Need to take one game at a time. The job is not done, series is not over. World champions play like world champions so we need to be ready for the next game. This isn't a wicket where you get bowled out for 115. Credit to the bowlers of both sides. Clearly an indication we need to up our skills. I said I don't care about the result as long as we could be true to the crowd and changing room, we had our plans, we stuck to it and we backed our guys. Our catching and ground fielding was amazing but we did make some errors, shows there's room for improvement. We knew the fans would lift us up and give us energy, credit to them, it helped us.

We bowled pretty well, we let ourselves down in the field. We were not up to standard and everyone looked a bit rusty. We spoke about taking time and enjoying our batting but it didn't pan out that way. Halfway through we had lost 5 wickets, would've been best for us if I stayed there till the end, very disappointed with the way I got out and the rest of the match panned out. There was a bit of hope for us but when you're chasing 115 and your no.10 batter is out there, you know something is wrong.

Just wanted to play throughout the innings, tried to get as many as we could. Tried to protect my partner, ended up getting 115 which was okay on this wicket. Told him (Chatara) simple things, I tried to let him play just 2 balls in an over. We told the boys to give it our all and to give our 100% no matter what.

Apart from more tours and games, Zimbabwe Cricket is planning to build a national cricket academy, refurbish the domestic league and install indoor training facilities at all five domestic centres. Madande is optimistic that his country would rediscover his giant-scalping mojo, so that he and his teammates could inspire more youngsters to fall in love with the game, as he had a decade ago.

Contrastingly, the most experienced player in India’s in-transition squad is Washington Sundar with 43 caps. But Madande is realistic about his team’s prospects. “You look at all their experience in the IPL, and you realise they are a strong team though some of the World Cup winners are not here. Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, Jitesh Sharma, they are my favourites in the league,” he says.

The 24-year-old knows that a clutch of impressive performances could elicit the attention of IPL scouts, and some of them could land up in the league, which has been an elusive shore for Zimbabwean cricketers. Only four Zimbabwean cricketers have ever appeared in the league, the last being Raza, who played just nine games across two seasons. “If more of us get to play cricket in franchises, the game would obviously draw more young talent to it, which would be good for the game overall in the country,” he says.

But busier days are knocking on their doors. Beginning with the India T20I series, they host all top nations, except Australia in the next cycle, and tour among other nations, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and England (for a four-day Test). “It’s a big motivation that we need to play our best and we need to play a bit harder and smarter. You get a lot of exposure and improvement. But like we showed in the series against Bangladesh, we have talent. We played good cricket there, just that we couldn’t get the results we wanted,” he explains.

In the series, Bangladesh won two T20I games by margins of nine and five runs; in the tour to Sri Lanka, the hosts eked out a last-ball thriller to win the opening game. Led by the seasoned Sikander Raza, Zimbabwe’s evergreen hero who ditched his dream of becoming a pilot to play cricket. His is not an utterly raw team, with seven of them clocking at least half a century of T20Is for their country. Some of them are familiar names too — such as all-rounders Luke Jongwe.and Wessly Madhevere, fast bowlers Tendai Chatara and Blessing Muzarbani. “Moreover, we would be playing in our backyard, there will be a lot of people cheering for us. It’s still the most popular sport in the country, and a lot of youngsters and schoolboys play this game,” he says.

Amidst the chaos, they somehow spun an odd upset or two, like beating Australia in an ODI in Townsville, in Queensland, or upending Pakistan in the 2022 edition of the World Cup. But the golden generation of the Flower brothers, Neil Johnson, Murray Goodwin and Heath Streak has become a distant memory. Many left the country, Streak passed away last year, but some, like the first Test captain Dave Houghton, have stayed back to help the new generation come through. “Guys like Houghton, Tatenda Taibu, I speak to them regularly, for advice, motivation and tips. Whenever I feel like struggling I go back to them,” he says.

Houghton’s men nearly pulled an upset over India in their inaugural Test, after his men had beaten England in a 1992 World Cup game. But from lively giant-killers they became forgotten minnows, hitting the headlines only for wrong reasons. Suspension of the board, or a former player hiding a bookie’s approach. Matches, inevitably, dried up. In the last six years, they played only 10 Tests and are not part of the World Test Championship cycle; the last time they played a top-10 ODI nation was in 2022, the subsequent years spent labouring in the World Cup qualifiers. They couldn’t qualify for the T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies, the only full member who was not part of the series.

Clive Madande remembers the day cricket became a part of his life. He was just a 12-year-old schoolboy when his father dragged him to the Harare Sports Club for a Test match between Pakistan and Zimbabwe in 2014. “It was one of the greatest days in Zimbabwean cricket. We beat Pakistan by 24 runs, and I thought well I should play this game,” the wicket-keeper batsman says. A decade later, he is one of the key figures in resuscitating the country’s lost cricketing heritage.

The defeat was perceived as a precursor of better days. Even though the victory was achieved against a side reputed to shower generosity on lower-rung teams, the country’s cricketing circle celebrated. Instead, in the next decade Zimbabwe slipped into the vortex of familiar demons. Administrative chaos, lack of infrastructure, suspension of the board due to undue interference of government, salary cuts and delayed payments, besides a general dearth in talent stalled their progress.

Right through the previous T20 cycle where they played three T20 World Cups in the space of four years, thanks to the one-dimensional batsmen in the line-up, India often struggled for the balance of the squad. Even in their victorious campaign, two of their all-rounders – Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel – played instrumental roles and going forward it is one aspect India’s selectors are keen on developing.

Abhishek’s inclusion also shows India are going to take the intent formula put in place by Rohit to the next level. Right through the IPL, the opening batsman from Punjab played a brand of cricket which India are rarely accustomed to. And with the likes of Gill and Gaikwad more comfortable batting in a slightly lower gear, Abhishek is a player India’s selectors believe will have a huge role to play in sustaining the momentum they have gained.

Though India have traditionally sent second-string squads for their off-season tour of Zimbabwe, the core of the team in Harare is expected to form the nucleus of the T20 side going forward. Like it has been the case before, at present the squad in Zimbabwe is again top-heavy with Jaiswal, Gill, Gaikwad and Abhishek – all openers – expected to bat out of position. “Rohit bhai and Virat bhai opened at the World Cup. I’m also an opener in the format. I would like to continue to open the batting in T20s,” Gill said.

However, having missed out on the T20 World Cup spot, with Jaiswal and Abhishek in the mix, Gill knows more than the runs it is the intent that would keep him in the frame. But for the time being, he can breathe easy as there is still plenty of time for culling as rotating players seem to be the focus point now. For the record, India have a whopping 30 T20Is and two IPLs to figure out the ideal resources before the next T20 World Cup in 2026.

After receiving a setback in the opening game, Shubman Gill’s India will return to face Sikandar Raza’s Zimbabwe in the second T20I at the Harare Sports Club in Harare on Sunday.

Chasing a modest 116-run target, India slumped to a shock defeat by 13 runs after Zimbabwe marked a resounding comeback led by skipper Raza’s three-wicket haul. None of the Indian batters got going on a tricky wicket and the Men in Blue will be aiming to level the five-match series in no time when they take the field.

As they are playing another game within 24 hours, India may opt for a subtle change in personnel for the upcoming match. Even as the batters failed to fire, they will likely persist throughout the series. This means Saturday’s debutants Abhishek Sharma, Dhruv Jurel and Riyan Parag will likely continue in their roles while the bowling department may see a shake-up. India’s long tail came under the scanner during the defeat in the previous game and they could opt to bolster the lower-order batting with seamer Harshit Rana replacing one of the quicks in Avesh Khan or Mukesh Kumar.

Wessly Madhevere, Innocent Kaia, Brian Bennett , Sikandar Raza (c), Dion Myers, Johnathan Campbell, Clive Madande (wk), Wellington Masakadza, Luke Jongwe, Blessing Muzarabani, Tendai Chatara

Shubman Gill(c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel(w), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar/Harshit Rana.