Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma dominate Zimbabwe in second T20I; India seal series in Harare

Despite many of the first-team members being rested, India had no difficulty in dealing with Zimbabwe, who arrived for the three-match series with an ODI and a one-off Test win against Bangladesh. In the second T20I in particular, the Chevrons were once again outplayed in both the batting and bowling departments, as the Shreyas Iyer-led side registered a 90-run win at the Harare Sports Club. It also marked Iyer’s maiden series win as captain in international cricket. 

Batting first, Abhishek Sharma once again suffered as the southpaw departed for eight runs. After his dismissal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi took over the business, hitting a couple of boundaries, but the 15-year-old once again struggled to keep up with the momentum. The opener went back, scoring 20 as the pressure fell on the middle order.

Ishan Kishan took responsibility and bailed the team out of any sort of trouble. The keeper-batter made 81 runs off 44 balls. Initially, he built an important 66-run partnership with Shreyas, who made 25 runs. Later, Tilak Varma completely changed the course of the game, batting



at a strike rate of over 200. Eventually, he made 60 runs off 20 balls as India posted 219 runs on the board in the first innings.

It was once again a comfortable night for the bowlers. Yash Thakur sent Brian Bennett for 32 runs to register his maiden international wicket. The Zimbabwe opener was looking in solid touch and after his dismissal, wickets fell like a house of cards. Prince Yadav picked up two wickets before he was forced to walk off with a hamstring injury. 

Ravi Bishnoi and Abhishek Sharma dominated the middle overs, as the latter picked up three wickets. Tilak Varma also bowled an over and picked up the prized wicket of Ryan Burl. Overall, it was a very comfortable win for India. They dominated Zimbabwe and registered their second-biggest win over the Chevrons in T20I cricket. 

The hosts, in the meantime, need to reflect hard on their batting. After posting only 125 runs in the first innings, Zimbabwe managed 129 in the second. Against a second-string Indian bowling attack, this can’t be acceptable, especially playing at home.