India win first T20I match by beating Zimbabwe

The Indians scored 178 for the loss of 5 wickets in their 20 overs and then bowled brilliantly to restrict their opponents to 124.

After winning the toss and opting to bat first, Ajinkya Rahane (33) and Murali Vijay (34) scored with some pace to post 64 for the opening wicket stand in 7 overs. Manish Pandey (19), Kedar Jadhav (9) and Stuart Binny (11) failed to convert their starts to anything big and departed early. Robin Uthappa (39) remained unbeaten along with Harbhajan Singh, who scored 8 off 3 deliveries to post a competitive score on the board.

Chris Mpofu picked up 3 wickets for 33 runs for the hosts while Graeme Cremer picked up 1 for 20 runs. He also bowled a maiden over.

Approaching the target after the innings break, Zimbabwe got off to a good start with the openers too notching up a half-century stand. But it all went downhill from there as the hosts lost their wickets in heaps.

The Indian bowlers led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, bowled in the right areas and offered very little width for their opponents to work with. They also picked up 7 wickets, including a run-out.

The spin duo of Axar Patel and Harbhajan Singh shared 5 wickets in between them giving away just 46 runs in their combined 8 overs. Mohit Sharma picked up a wicket giving away just 8 runs in his 3 overs.

Hamilton Masakadza (28) top scored for his side as he tried to play some flashy shots with his willow. Chamu Chibhabha (23), Charles Coventry (10) and Sikander Raza (10) failed to provide the impetus needed for the win.

Axar Patel, who picked up 3 wickets for 17 runs, took home the Man of the Match trophy for his performance with the ball.

It was Captain Rahane’s fourth consecutive win as he had earlier won the 3 match ODI series 3-0. The win also meant that India couldn’t possibly lose the 2-match T20I series, having already taken an unassailable 1-0 lead.