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Treble for Shardul Thakur, unassailable series lead for India
Sanju Samson hit an unbeaten 43 down the order as India won the second ODI against Zimbabwe by five wickets to go 2-0 up in the series with a game left to play.
Sometimes when you have been out of action for a long time, you can almost feel like a newcomer on return. Net practice is no substitute for game time. KL Rahul acutely felt that on Saturday. His first innings since IPL didn’t go well as Rahul was dismissed fifth ball.
In a comeback innings, it’s important to spend as much time as possible in the middle to get back the rhythm. In the few deliveries he played, Rahul looked rusty. That decisive feet movement was missing. He fell to an ordinary shot. His head fell over when he moved too far inside in an attempt to turn the ball to the leg side. He missed the line and was trapped in front.
Rahul though is showing a ruthless streak as captain. He marshalled his bowling attack superbly to bowl out the hosts to 161 all out in 38.1 overs in the second ODI at Harare on Saturday. The visitors then took a mid-innings wobble in their stride to romp to a five-wicket victory and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
Sanju Samson anchored the chase with an unbeaten 43 off 39 balls (3 fours, 4 sixes).
The Zimbabwe total was not really going to test India. After the display of the two openers, Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill in the first ODI where they chased down the total for no loss, the question was whether the India captain will get to bat at all. So, he came out to open. His early dismissal didn’t matter though. Gill came at one down and this time he and Dhawan exchanged roles. Gill was more watchful while Dhawan went for his strokes, setting the tone for the innings with a 21-ball 33.
Going at 7.5 runs an over, India were 75 for no loss in 10 overs and chased down the target in 25.4 overs. Still, it was not a perfect batting performance. The visitors’ top-order was uncharacteristically jittery. Ishan Kishan at No 4 threw his wicket away cheaply. He played on to the stumps while throwing his bat at a wide ball. Had the wicketkeeper reacted to the edge drawn off Gill by Brad Evans with a perfect length ball outside off-stump, India would have been four down around the 80-run mark.
To the delight of the celebrating Zimbabwe fans, Gill didn’t capitalise. He also played a loose shot off Luke Jongwe to be out. At 97/4, India were in a spot of bother, still needing 65 runs.
The onus was on Deepak Hooda—he survived a review on the fourth ball he faced after Evans rapped him on the front pad—and new batter Sanju Samson. They shared a 56-run partnership to shut the door on the hosts.
After the game, Rahul said it was a good test for his batters. “It didn't work (on the changed batting order); I wanted to get some runs but it didn't happen. Hopefully, in the next game (it will happen). They have some quality bowlers. The bowlers did come hard, they're tall and big and strong. Good challenge for us as batters, but we bat deep so it wasn't a worry.”
Shardul Thakur put on a typical display, giving away some runs but picking three wickets. The pacer’s haul ensured India didn’t feel the absence of the first match’s star performer Deepak Chahar. There was no official word on why Chahar missed the game on Saturday. The Rajasthan pacer, returning after a long injury lay off, played his first game in six months on Thursday.
The Zimbabwe openers did well to soak in the early pressure from the new ball pair of Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna, losing only one wicket in the first 10 overs. Introduced in the eighth over of the innings, Thakur made things happen. Opening batter Innocent Kaia took a couple of fours off him, but the Mumbai bowler struck back with two quick wickets, reducing Zimbabwe to 29/3.
Sean Williams was the lone batter who negotiated the Indian bowling comfortably. After some eye-pleasing shots on way to 42, he played the wrong shot at the wrong juncture to be caught at square-leg off Deepak Hooda. It ended his side’s hopes of reaching a decent total.
