India made (San)just one change to their playing eleven – Harbhajan Singh made way for Twenty20 International debutant Samson.
Zimbabwe
made a couple of changes to the eleven that last played the Indians – Elton
Chigumbura and Neville Madziva made way for Sean Williams and Malcolm Waller.
On winning
the toss, Sikandar Raza, Zimbabwe’s skipper, chose to bat.
The
Powerplay of Zimbabwe’s innings – which was between the mandatory Powerplay –
was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 48, and lost a couple of
wickets.
Hamilton
Masakadza, whose 17-ball innings included a boundary and a six, scored 19.
Twenty balls (Rob)into the (Shar)match, he was caught by Uthappa. Sandeep broke
the 28-run stand.
Although
his innings included a boundary, Raza had no reason to be in seventh heaven –
he scored just eight. Fourteen balls later, he was caught by Samson. Mohit
Sharma broke the 20-run stand.
Zimbabwe,
who scored 50 off 6.1 overs (38 balls). India had conceded four extras at that
point.
Williams,
whose 18-ball innings included a boundary, scored 17. Thirty-three balls later,
he was caught by Axar Patel, who broke the 37-run stand.
Zimbabwe,
who scored 100 off 13.5 overs (84 balls). India had conceded nine extras at
that point.
Charles
Coventry, who faced 10 balls, scored four. Twenty-six balls after Williams’
dismissal, he was trapped leg before wicket by Stuart Binny, who broke the
28-run stand.
Chamu
Chibhabha, the player of the match and the player of the series, scored 50 off
38 balls, which included seven boundaries. He eventually scored 67 off 51
balls, which included nine boundaries. Sixteen balls later, Bhuvneshwar Kumar
broke the 19-run stand.
Although
his nine-ball innings included a boundary, Craig Ervine had a reason to be in
seventh heaven – three balls later, Kumar had a reason to be in seventh heaven.
Waller, who
faced half-a-dozen balls, scored as many. He was unbeaten.
Prosper
Utseya, who faced a couple of balls, scored a run. Five balls later, he was
caught by Patel. Mohit broke the three-run stand.
Graeme
Cremer, who faced a ball, didn’t open his account. He was unbeaten.
India
eventually conceded 16 extras. Zimbabwe scored 145 for the loss of seven
wickets off 20 overs. Murali Vijay, who bowled a couple of wicketless overs,
conceded nine.
Binny, who
bowled a couple of overs, conceded 14. He picked up a wicket, as did Sandeep
and Patel, who bowled a wicket apiece. While the former conceded 39, the latter
conceded 23.
Mohit and
Kumar bowled four overs each, picking up a couple of scalps apiece. While the
former conceded 28, the latter conceded 26.
The
Powerplay of India’s innings – which was between the mandatory Powerplay – was
between the first and the sixth over. They scored 57, and lost a wicket.
India’s
openers put on four. Ajinkya Rahane, who faced three balls, scored four. His
runs came by way of a boundary. Three balls into the chase, Chibhabha and
Coventry ran him out.
India
scored 50 off 5.3 overs (33 balls). Zimbabwe hadn’t conceded any extras at that
point.
The
second-wicket pair put on 50 off 33 balls. While Vijay’s contribution to the
partnership was 13, Uthappa’s contribution to it was 40. Extras didn’t
contribute to the partnership.
Vijay,
whose 11-ball innings included a six, didn’t add to the aforementioned score. Thirty-four
balls after Rahane’s dismissal, Cremer broke the 53-run partnership.
The third-wicket
pair didn’t get off the mark. Manish Pandey, who faced three balls, didn’t open
his account. Three balls later, he was trapped leg before wicket by Cremer.
Uthappa,
whose 25-ball innings included nine boundaries, eventually scored 42. Five balls
later, he was caught by Williams, who broke the four-run stand.
The
fifth-wicket pair put on eight. Kedar Jadhav, who faced half-a-dozen
boundaries, scored five. (Muzaraba)Nine balls later, Taurai ran him out.
India
scored 100 off 13.5 overs (83 balls). Zimbabwe had conceded an extra at that
point.
Binny,
whose 23-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 24. Thirty-seven
balls after Jadhav’s dismissal, he was caught by Chibhabha. Cremer broke the
36-run stand.
Samson,
whose 24-ball innings included a boundary, scored 19. Fifteen balls later, he
was caught by Waller. Chris Mpofu broke the 12-run stand.
Patel,
whose 15-ball innings included a boundary, scored 13. Half-a-dozen balls later,
he was caught by Williams. Needless to say, Muzarabani was in seventh heaven.
The
ninth-wicket pair put on seven. Kumar, who faced half-a-dozen balls, scored
nine. Five balls later, Coventry and Mpofu ran him out.
Mohit, who
faced three balls, scored as many. He was unbeaten, as was Sandeep, who faced a
ball, scoring a run.
Zimbabwe
eventually conceded a couple of extras. India, who scored 135 for the loss of
nine wickets off 20 overs, lost by 10 runs. Chibhabha bowled a wicketless over,
conceding nine. Raza bowled two wicketless overs, conceding nine. Utseya bowled
three wicketless overs, conceding 18.
Mpofu and
Muzarabani bowled three overs each, picking up a wicket apiece. While the
former conceded 26, the latter conceded 23. Williams bowled four overs,
conceding 31. He picked up a wicket. Cremer bowled four overs, conceding 18. He
picked up three scalps.
The
two-match series was levelled 1-1.
