Rahane leads; India beat Zimbabwe

India (Shar)made (Dho)nine changes to their playing (Pat)eleven – Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Ambati Rayudu, Ravichandran Ashwin, Karn and Mohammed Shami made way for Murali Vijay, Robin Uthappa, five Twenty20 International debutants [Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Stuart Binny, Axar (the player of the match) and Sandeep Sharma], Harbhajan Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Zimbabwe made five Cha(tara)nges to their playing eleven – Brendan Taylor, Tatenda Taibu, Greg Lamb, Tendai and Ray Price made way for Sikandar Raza, Craig Ervine, Prosper Utseya and a couple of Twenty20 International debutants (Neville Madziva and Taurai Muzarabani).

On winning the toss, Ajinkya Rahane’s skipper, chose to bat.

The Powerplay of India’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 58, without the loss of a wicket.

India’s openers put on 50 off 5.2 overs (32 balls). Zimbabwe had conceded four extras at that point. While Rahane’s contribution to the partnership was 27, Vijay’s contribution to it was 20.

India’s openers eventually put on 64. Vijay, whose 19-ball innings included five boundaries and a six, eventually scored 34. Seven overs into the match, Raza ran him out.

Rahane, whose 32-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 33. Fourteen balls later, he was caught by Hamilton Masakadza. Graeme Cremer broke the 18-run stand.

Uthappa, whose 35-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 39. He was unbeaten.

India scored 100 off 12.2 overs (74 balls). Zimbabwe had conceded 15 extras at that point.

Pandey, whose run-a-ball innings included a boundary and a six, scored 19. Thirty-six balls after Rahane’s dismissal, he was caught by Raza. Chris Mpofu broke the 45-run stand.

India scored 150 off 17.2 overs (105 balls). Zimbabwe had conceded 23 extras at that point.

Although his innings included a boundary, Jadhav had no reason to be in seventh heaven – he scored nine. Thirteen balls later, he was caught by Masakadza. Mpofu broke the 23-run stand.

Binny, whose six-ball innings included a six, scored 11. Ten balls later, he was caught by Cremer. Mpofu broke the 16-run stand.

Harbhajan, whose three-ball innings included a boundary, scored eight. He was unbeaten.

Zimbabwe eventually conceded 25 extras. India scored 178 for the loss of five wickets off 20 overs.

Raza, who bowled a wicketless over, conceded a couple. Muzarabani, who bowled three wicketless overs, conceded 36. Madziva and Utseya bowled four wicketless overs apiece. While the former conceded 46, the latter conceded 30.

Cremer bowled four overs, including a maiden. He conceded 20, picking up a wicket. Mpofu, who bowled four overs, conceded 33. He picked up three scalps.

The Powerplay of Zimbabwe’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 38, without the loss of a wicket.

Zimbabwe’s openers put on 50 off seven overs (42 balls). India had conceded five extras at that point. While Masakadza’s contribution to the partnership was 24, Chamu Chibhabha’s contribution to it was 21.

Chibhabha, whose 27-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and a six, eventually scored 23. Forty-nine into the match, he was caught by Pandey. Harbhajan broke the 55-run partnership.

Masakadza, whose 24-ball innings included a boundary and a couple of sixes, eventually scored 28. Seven balls later, he was caught by Jadhav. Patel broke the nine-run stand.

Elton Chigumbura, Zimbabwe’s skipper, faced three balls, scoring a run. Four balls later, Patel broke the run-a-ball stand.

Charles Coventry, whose run-a-ball innings included a six, scored 10. Five balls later, he was caught by Rahane. Harbhajan broke the two-run stand.

The fourth-wicket pair on 14. Ervine, who faced eight balls, scored just a couple. Seventeen balls later, Mohit Sharma ran him out.

Raza, who faced 17 balls, scored just 10. Fourteen balls later, Patel broke the eight-run stand.

Cremer, who faced 14 balls, scored nine. Ten balls later, Mohit broke the eight-run stand.

Zimbabwe scored 100 off 18.1 overs (109 balls). India had conceded 14 extras at that point. That was, incidentally, the number of extras they eventually conceded.

Utseya, whose seven-ball innings included a boundary and a six, scored 13. He was unbeaten.

Madziva, whose innings included a boundary and a six, scored 14. He was unbea‘ten’.

Zimbabwe, who scored 124 for the loss of seven wickets off 20 overs, lost by 54 runs.

Binny, who bowled a couple of wicketless overs, conceded eight. Sandeep, who bowled three wicketless overs, conceded 34. Bhuvneshwar, who bowled four wicketless overs, conceded 22.

Mohit, who bowled three overs, conceded eight. He picked up a wicket. Harbhajan, who bowled four overs, conceded 29. He picked up a couple of wickets. Patel, who bowled four overs, conceded 17. He picked up three scalps.  

India led the two-match series 1-0.