IND vs ZIM HIGHLIGHTS, 2nd T20I Match: India Win By 100 Runs, Bounce Back In Five-match Series

"I think it was pretty much good performance by me, the defeat we had yesterday we didn't have it easy for us. I felt today it was my day and I made it count. I feel T20 is about momentum and I took it to the end. Special mention to the coaches, captains and the team management to keep confidence. I always feel that as a youngster if it's your day, you have to express yourself. We were talking after every over and he (Ruturaj) said to me that you should take it on. I always believe in my ability, if it's in my arc and even if it's the first ball, I will go after it," Abhishek Sharma said.

India have won the match by 100 runs and they have registered a remarkable comeback in the five-match series, making it 1-1. Abhishek Sharma was the star performer with a brilliant century whereas Avesh Khan and Mukesh Kumar picked up three wickets each.

ZIM: 134 all-out (18.4)

Wicket! Zimbabwe go nine down as Avesh dismisses Muzarabani for 2. Avesh takes his third wicket of the match as Sundar makes no mistake with the catch.

ZIM: 123/9 (18) 

Wicket! The partnership has been broken and it's Bishnoi with the breakthrough. Madhevere played a good hand for his 43 but has to go back to pavilion. Zimbabwe go eight down.

ZIM: 119/8 (17)

Washington Sundar comes back into the attack and Masakazada survives a nery run out attempt. But on the next ball Masakzada is run out as Dhruv Jurel attempts a direct hit. Jongwe is the new batter. He takes a single as the ball goes towards deep extra cover. Jongwe takes another single. Madhevere tries to step out to smash a four but could only take two runs. Jongwe smashes four on the next ball while playing a lap shot. 

Avesh Khan comes back into the attack. Campbell takes a single as the ball goes towards deep extra cover. Campbell takes another single on the nexyt ball. Campbell tries to smash big but the ball lands in no where's land. 

Mukesh Kumar comes back into the attack. He bowls a wide ball to Madhevere. Madhevere then takes a single as the ball goes towards deep square leg. Brian Bennett then smashes a huge six on the next ball. Benett smashes another six on the next ball. Mukesh cleans bowled Benett on the last ball of the over. 

Jongwe comes back into the attack as he bowls a full toss. Ruturaj Gaikwad is inching towards his fifty. Rinku smashes a four as the ball goes towards outside off. Fifty up for Ruturaj Gaikwad!

Abhishek Sharma is inching closer towards his century as he has smashed two consecutive sixes in Masakazada's over. Abhishek Sharma scripts history as he has smashed his first T20I century in his second international match. Masakzada finally disisses him. 

Abhishek has reached his maiden fifty in just 34 deliveries. He seems to be on fire at the moment and is only dealing in boundaries. 28 runs came off that over as India go past 100.

IND: 102/1 (11)

Abhishek smashed Raza for a six and a boundary as India picked up 14 runs off that over. The score has gone past 50.

IND: 63/1 (9)

Abhishek and Ruturaj have done welll so far with the recovery after Gill's early dismissal but the good thing for Zimbabwe is that the run rate is well in control. Seven runs came off that over from Chatara and it's the end of the powerplay.

IND: 36/1 (6)

Wicket! Zimbabwe are high on confidence and they are off to a promising start here as well as Muzarabani strikes in his first over. He removes Indian skipper Shubman Gill for 2. No mistake with the catch from Bennett. Maiden over from Muzarabani.

IND: 10/1 (2)

Abhishek Sharma got off the mark in T20I cricket with a six. Both batters showed calmness this time in the first over which went for 10 runs.

IND: 10/0 (1)

"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," said the Zimbabwe captain.

"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," said the Indian captain.

Sai Sudharsan is making his T20I debut for India. He already has represented the country in three ODI matches so far.,

A day to remember for T20I Debutant Sai Sudharsan 💙

He receives his T20I cap 🧢 from Captain Shubman Gill ahead of the second T20I 👏👏

Follow the Match ▶️ https://t.co/yO8XjNpOro… #ZIMvIND#TeamIndia | #ZIMvIND pic.twitter.com/9XfRBVT1Im, — BCCI (@BCCI) July 7, 2024

India have made just one change, bringing in Sai Sudharsan to replace Khaleel Ahmed for the second match whereas Zimbabwe are unchanged. 

India have won the toss and opted to bat first against Zimbabwe in the second T20I match. The Men in Blue will be looking to put up an impressive performance and bounce back in the five-match series.

"We are trying to use our own conditions as much as we can against this Indian side. It's a second-string Indian side, but there are a lot of good players in there. So, we are looking forward to this series. We've had a few plans in place. We needed them to work and obviously, we are trying to use our own conditions as much as we can against this Indian side."

The live telecast of the match will be available on Sony Sports Network whereas the live streaming will be helmed in India by SonyLiv app and website.

“We are trying our best and we need to bounce back stronger. We just need to come back tomorrow (Sunday) with a fresh mind for the second match,” said Bishnoi in the post-match press meet.

“It was a good game of cricket, but we collapsed, lost continuous wickets. A partnership would have made the game better for us. We could not do that. I think that made the difference,” he said.

“Zimbabwe’s bowling and fielding were really good. They did not allow us to build partnerships,” he added.

India and Zimbabwe have played 9 T20I matches against each other. India have won 6 of those while Zimbabwe have won thrice.

“We bowled pretty well, we let ourselves down in the field. We were not up to standard and everyone looked a bit rusty,” Gill said at the post-match presentation.

“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,” he added.

It all went wrong for the visitors with the bat as they failed to chase down a low target with all of the three debutants Abhishek Sharma (0), Riyan Parag (2) and Dhruv Jurel (6) having disappointing outings. Earlier, India did well to restrict Zimbabwe to 115/9 in their 20 overs after opting to bowl first on the back of Ravi Bishnoi's four wickets.

Skipper Sikandar Raza played a key hand in Zimbabwe's 13-run victory, scoring 17 runs and picked up three wickets.

India will be looking to bounce back in the five-match series, having lost the opening match in Harare. On the other hand, Zimbabwe have a remarkable chance to extend their lead and put up yet another impressive performance.

India Squad: Shubman Gill(c), Abhishek Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Riyan Parag, Rinku Singh, Dhruv Jurel(w), Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Tushar Deshpande, Sai Sudharsan, Harshit Rana, Jitesh Sharma

Zimbabwe Squad: Wessly Madhevere, Innocent Kaia, Brian Bennett, Sikandar Raza(c), Dion Myers, Johnathan Campbell, Clive Madande(w), Wellington Masakadza, Luke Jongwe, Blessing Muzarabani, Tendai Chatara, Brandon Mavuta, Richard Ngarava, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Faraz Akram, Antum Naqvi

Hello and welcome to our live blog of the second T20I match between India and Zimbabwe from the Harare Sports Club. The hosts are already 1-0 ahead in the series and it will be interesting to see how India plan things out to make a comeback. Stay tuned for all the latest updates from the match.