Serial winners: India win third away ODI series

Mishra’s day out

Despite having lived life on the fringes for over a decade,Mishra has always laid claim to being a genuine wicket-taker across all formats like any leg-spinner worth his salt.

And at the Harare Sports Club,he lived up to his reputation,chipping away at the Zimbabwean batting line-up and finishing with figures of 4/47 as India cruised to an insurmountable 3-0 lead in the five-match series. Mishra’s exploits,aided by impressive support from the likes of Mohammad Shami and Ravindra Jadeja,was instrumental in the visitors’ commanding show with the ball with Zimbabwe being bowled out for 183. Skipper Virat Kohli then led the way for the umpteenth time in a run-chase,remaining unbeaten on 68,after Shikhar Dhawan had provided a typically aggressive start,the eventual finish arriving with almost 15 overs to spare.

The first half of the day though belonged to Mishra. Prior to the Zimbabwean series,he had spent two tournaments warming the bench,battling the chilly English climes followed by the heat and humidity of the Caribbean. With R Ashwin rested,it was inevitable that Mishra would finally get a go. As inevitable as the fact that he had to deliver to keep the selectors’ faith.

Especially since selection committees have been increasingly impatient with their leg-spinning options ever since Kumble hung up his boots. On Sunday,Mishra was the seventh bowler to be used by Kohli who’s never shy of ringing in the bowling changes. But he struck gold straight away,snaring two wickets in his very first over.

First up was Hamilton Masakadza,arguably the most skilled batsman in the present Zimbabwean setup. And by then the right-hander had his eye in,having stroked five fours for his 38. Mishra required a single delivery to send him packing though as Masakadza edged an attempted cut to wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik. The googly was next up,and it left Malcolm Waller’s feet in disarray,trapping him in front. And just like that,Mishra had made an immediate impact. With Zimbabwe already five down with just 80 on the board,the leg-spinner now had a great chance to run through the lower order.

It is here,however,that he showed signs of the probable reasons for the selectors’ insecurity and inhibition regarding giving him a long run in the shorter format. His inability to keep runs down once batsmen get going against him. And he ended up leaking runs here as well,with Sean Williams and even Brian Vitori getting stuck into him. Though he did finish by seeing off the tail,Mishra would have preferred his four scalps coming at a cheaper price for sure.

With the series now shifting to Bulawayo for two dead rubber contests,Mishra will get two more shots at building on his strong showing so far while the Indian management looks to provide exposure to the other reserves on the bench.