India made just one Cha(wla)nge to their playing eleven – Piyush made way for Twenty20 International debutant Amit Mishra.
Zimbabwe made three Cha(tara)nges to the eleven that
last played the Indians – Craig Ervine, Prosper Utseya and Ed Rainsford made
way for Charles Coventry, Graeme Cremer and Twenty20 International debutant Tendai.
On winning the toss, Suresh Raina, India’s skipper,
the player of the match, and the player of the series, inserted the hosts.
Hamilton Masakadza, who faced eight balls, scored just
a couple. Thirteen balls into the (Shar)match, he was caught by Rohit. Ashok
Dinda broke the eight-run stand.
Although his 17-ball innings included a boundary, Chamu
(Chibhab)had no reason to be in seventh heaven – 23 balls later, Pragyan Ojha
broke the 13-run stand.
Zimbabwe scored 50 off 10.4 overs (66 balls). India
had conceded a couple of extras at that point.
Brendan Taylor, whose 33-ball innings included three
boundaries, scored 27. Forty-balls after Chibhabha’s dismissal, he was caught
by Yusuf Pathan. Mishra broke the 43-run stand.
Zimbabwe scored 100 off 16.4 overs (104 balls). India
had conceded four extras at that point.
Tatenda Taibu, whose 40-ball innings included a couple
of boundaries, scored 45. He was unbeaten.
Coventry, whose 13-ball innings included three
boundaries and a couple of sixes, scored 28. Twenty-eight balls later, Dinda
broke the 43-run stand.
Elton Chigumbura, Zimbabwe’s skipper, scored 18. His
six-ball innings included a boundary and a couple of sixes. Eight balls later,
he was caught by Raina. Ravichandran Ashwin broke the 21-run stand.
Although his four-ball innings included a boundary, Greg
Lamb, who was unbeaten, had no reason to be in seventh heaven.
India eventually conceded half-a-dozen extras.
Zimbabwe, who scored 140 for the loss of five wickets off 20 overs.
Each of the five bowlers bowled four overs apiece. Vinay
Kumar, who was wicketless, conceded 28. Ashwin, Ojha and Mishra picked up a
wicket apiece. They conceded 48, 26, and 21, respectively. Dinda conceded 15,
picking up two scalps.
Naman Ojha, whose 18-ball innings included a couple of
boundaries, scored 10. Five overs into the chase, he was caught by Chatara. Ray
Price broke the 32-run stand.
India scored 50 off 7.3 overs (50 balls). Zimbabwe had
conceded half-a-dozen extras at that point.
The second-wicket pair put on 50 off 43 balls. While
Murali Vijay’s contribution to the partnership was 22, Raina’s contribution to it
was 30. Extras’ contribution to the partnership was three.
India scored 100 off 13.3 overs (87 balls). Zimbabwe
had conceded eight extras at that point.
Vijay, whose 39-ball innings included a couple of
boundaries and three sixes, eventually scored 46. Fifty-eight balls after Ojha’s
dismissal, he was caught by Cremer. Chibhabha broke the 79-run partnership.
Raina’s half-century – which included four boundaries
and a couple of sixes – came off 33 balls. He eventually scored 72 off 44
balls, which included half-a-dozen boundaries, in addition to the aforementioned
number of sixes. He was unbeaten.
Pathan had no reason to be in seventh heaven – he scored
four. Eighteen balls after Vijay’s dismissal, he was caught by Masakadza. Chatara
broke the 28-run stand.
Sharma, who didn’t face a ball, was unbeaten.
Zimbabwe eventually conceded 12 extras. India, who scored
144 for the loss of three wickets off 18 overs, won by seven wickets with two overs
to spare.
Chigumbura and Cremer bowled a wicketless over apiece.
While the former conceded 12, the latter conceded nine. Mpofu and Lamb bowled
three wicketless overs apiece. While the former conceded 29, the latter
conceded 21.
Price and Chibhabha bowled three overs each, picking
up a wicket apiece. While the former conceded 25, the latter conceded 19.
Chatara bowled four overs, conceding 27. He picked up a scalp.
India won the two-match series 2-0.
