India vs Zimbabwe highlights 5th T20I: IND beat ZIM by 42 runs win the series 4-1 in Harare

Deshpande picks up his first international wicket. It was a short delivery that Mavuta hit straight back and the bowler caught it. Zimbabwe lost their eighth now two more overs left but the game seems to be done and dusted already. 

After the opening game, India would be satisfied with how the series has gone. While there might be questions about a few things yet like Gill's performance which looked up and down through the series with the bat apart from that things have been brilliant. 

It has been a horrible passage of play for Zimbabwe. They have lost three wickets within space of 10 runs and that arguably killed the runchase for them. Excellent comeback by India in the second half of this game. They have turned it around out of nowhere

Shivam Dube picks Campbell. The batter played a pickup shot and the ball went straight to fine-leg fielder. It is the passage of play probably pushed Zimbabwe out of the game. As we update Abhishek Sharma comes in and picks Madande.

Yesterday it was Campbell who was the victim between him and Raza and today it is the skipper. It was an excellent throw from third-man fielder who was inside the ring and ball hit the stumps directly of Raza who was going to non-strike after a bit of hesitation.

Dube picked up Myers. The batter tried to hit over infiled through the point region but was caught by the fielder in the ring. A timely wicket for India. Now they have lost their fourth wicket did Zimbabwe Campbell has walked into the middle. 

Myers is batting well here. He has got adjusted to the pace of the wicket and is batting nicely. India need to look for wickets now instead of containing the batters. As we update Rinku Singh has twisted his knee here. 

Zimbabwe's two of the main batters are in the middle and they need to stitch a partnership here. If these two bat for a while India will start to panic. Also it is not the biggest total India is defending today and the bowlers of India are quite inexperienced. 

Abhishek Sharma has come into the attack and bowled a semi-decent over. Myers went down the track and smacked the bowler for a six which is what Zimbabwe wants they need to attack the fifth bowling quota of India so that they have a chance. 

Sundar gets the wicket of Marumani. Much needed a wicket for India as Marumani was looking dangerous. The batter tried to sweep the ball and missed completely and was given out for LBW. The game is right in the balance now and Raza's innings might be crucial here.

Much better second over from Bishnoi he bowled it slower through the air and he was getting enough turn out of the surface. The pitch is getting difficult to bat as the ball is getting softer. Zimbabwe also needs to remember that India has four overs fifth bowling left.

Zimbabwe has gone past 50 now. All the little things are going in their favor at the moment. It started with a no-ball by Mukesh and now this partnership is continuing to grow slowly and steadily. Bishnoi has comeback for his second over. 

Ravi Bishnoi came to bowl the final over of the Powerplay and it was taken for 15 runs. It might just be the over which will inject momentum into the innings of Zimbabwe. All the good work done initially by Mukesh seems to been undone. 

Mukesh Kumar bowled a peach to Marumani however, to his disgust it was a no-ball. The batter survives however, it was a test spell from Mukesh in this game. He has asked all the right questions as we update Ravi Bishnoi comes into the attack. 

Brilliant comeback over from Deshpande he got his lines and lengths right. He was moving the ball both ways. One noticeable thing about cricket in Zimbabwe has been the bowling hits are difficult to hit once the ball loses a bit of lacquer.

Mukesh Kumar picks his second wicket it is Bennett this time. The batter tried to cut the ball and was caught by the third man Zimbabwe lost now their second one after starting well with the ball the batters are letting them down here. 

Tushar Deshpande has taken the second over and bowled an expensive one. The over went for over 10 runs. It is a pressure let-off by Deshpande after an impressive opening over from Mukesh Kumar. It will be interesting to see how Gill juggles his bowlers around.

Mukesh Kumar gets the breakthrough the opener tried to cut the ball and get the inside edge onto the stumps. Defending a semi-decent total this is an excellent start for India. Madheevere played well in the last game.

India has ended up with 167/6 which not be enough it is in between total and will need Indian bowlers to do well. As per Zimbabwe it is just repeating what they have done in the last game and hope one of the batter comes good and goes on to make a big score. It is going to be a fascinating chase.

Shivam Dube departs it is a runout. Comedy of errors from Indian batters what an unnecessary wicket. India has been playing with a long batting order throughout the tournament and today is the first time the depth of the order is coming to use. 

Sanju Samson pulled one and the ball went straight to the mid-wicket fielder. He was not getting the timing right with the pull shot throughout the innings and when he finally lofted it once he got the toe end and went straight to the fielder big blow for India. 

Well-compiled half-century for Sanju Samson. He took his time initially to get adjusted to the pace of the surface once he got his eye in he started taking on the responsibility he needs to bat till the end here if India needs to get a decent score in this final game.

Ngavara has come back into the attack and Samson hit him for a lovely six down the ground. India has laid a decent foundation now. They need to get some boundaries away here because the total they are looking like they will get if they go like this might not just be enough.

Riyan Parag lost a bit of momentum in his innings he tried to reverse sweep Brandon first and missed it and then smacked it down the ground and got the bottom edge which went straight to the long-on fielder. Shivam Dube has walked into the middle. 

Muzarambani has come back into the attack and delivered an exceptional over. This is proactive from Raza to bring him back however, the desired result was him getting the breakthrough which did not happen. Clever batting from India. 

Good over from Akram. Despite the good overs one thing Zimbabwe has struggled through the series apart from the opening game is picking wickets in the middle overs. And today again after the Powerplay they have managed not to create any inroads.

Samson too who was batting slowly has now caught up with the strike rate as he smacked a couple of gigantic sixes into the stands of the leg-spinner. Both batters have got their eye in now it might be wise for Raza to get in a seamer back into the attack.

Good over from Sikandar Raza. The partnership seemed to have changed gears now. Seems like they want to go after the bowling. The urgency between the wickets too has grown. Brandon is brought into the attack yet again. 

Brandon tossed one up and Parag smacked him on the leg-side which went for 107 meters excellent shot from Parag and much needed one for India given the innings were losing a bit of momentum. Zimbabwe needs to be a little careful here. 

Raza though has picked a wicket and is going over 10s. It is a strange call from Raza to take off the leg-spinner just after one over who looked decent. Both Parag and Samson have given themselves enough time now and need to start going after the bowling. 

Akram has come into the attack for his second spell and bowled a decent over. India is looking to rebuild the innings both Parag and Samson are batting cautiously. Raza has brought himself into the attack.

Leg-spinner Brandon has come into attack to bowl his first over of the series and he did a decent job. He varied his pace nicely and bowled tight lines also both batters were reluctant to go after the bowling as the wickets fell. 

Excellent over from Muzarambani yet again to close out the Powerplay. This has been a good start for Zimbabwe today they have come prepared and executed their plans to perfection which has put India already on the back foot. 

Another one bites the dust for India. Ngavra bowls a short one which Gill tries to take on and the ball goes high in the air and mid-on takes a simple catch. India loses three wickets in the Powerplay here. Riyan Parag has walked in the middle. 

Abhishek Sharma charged down against Muzarmabani and tried to pierce him through point region however, the ball took the outside edge and the ball carried to the keeper. India lose their second one Sanju Samson has come to the middle for India. 

Akram has been brought into the attack by Sikandar Raza which was a strange move from a Zimbabwe skipper. He had the option of bringing in Muzarambani but he turned to a slow-pacer who did not cause any trouble and gave India their best over of the innings.

Ngavara took the second over and delivered a good one. He stuck to his lines and lengths not allowing the batters to free their arms sustaining the pressure created by Raza in the first over. Decent start for Zimbabwe today. 

It was an eventful opening over with Jaiswal starting with a couple of sixes and Raza bowling a no-ball however, the bowler came back and bowled an inswinger at full length and Jaiswal played it the wrong line and was bowled. Abhishek Sharma walks in. 

Feel quite alright now. I have put in the hard yards over the past month. I had a knee issue, quite happy to be back in the team. Quite a lot of lessons you take from playing in the leagues. You come across a lot of coaches and fitness trainers. You get to learn a lot of things. At the end of the day, you want to do the simple things better. (On his bowling partnership with Blessing Muzarabani) We have been in the same academy, it's been going for us for a long time. He's one guy who pumps me when I am low and I pump him up when he's low. Hopefully we keep taking wickets. Hopefully both of us can take fifers in the same match.

Same pitch as yesterday. It remains a belter. If you give width, batters will take full toll. It looks quite hard, very few footmarks on display. 150 is not enough, 180 would make for a great game.

(On being part of the World Cup winning squad) The emotions are still going through. The photos are still around. It was an unbelievable experience. I couldn't stop smiling. Very fortunate to be part of the team. Credit to everyone who contributed. It was a complete team effort. (This series) We might be making some changes, there might be some shuffle in the batting order, hoping to get some time in the middle. (IPL experience) I have been leading RR for the last four years. There have been some legends. I take care of legends and youngsters. You understand cricket a bit more. When you are a captain, you think about other players and other teams as well. I have been getting better.  

Shubman Gill(c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(w), Riyan Parag, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Tushar Deshpande, Mukesh Kumar

Wessly Madhevere, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Brian Bennett, Dion Myers, Sikandar Raza(c), Johnathan Campbell, Faraz Akram, Clive Madande(w), Brandon Mavuta, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani

We were looking to bat first anyway. Our spinners have bowled well and the fast bowlers have been economical. The players have been hungry. It's not easy to play back-to-back matches. Couple of changes. Mukesh Kumar and Parag come in

We are gonna have a bowl first. The wicket did get better. They will get better when we bat second. The motivation, confidence and skillset is there. Chatara has been rested.

Matches played: 12, 

India won: 9, 

Zimbabwe won: 3

I really enjoyed my batting today. I had my plans for different bowlers. The ball was coming on when it was new and as it got old, it was quite slow. I enjoyed batting with Shubman. Initially I was thinking to take on the bowlers and as the innings progressed, I thought how to build the innings and stay till the end.

I think the wicket was a bit damp and we thought 160 was par. But with the way they batted even 180 would have not been enough. We keep growing and learning from each game. I think 8-10 runs more in the last 5 overs. There was a bit of kick and bounce, so we had to rein ourselves in at the start of the innings. The heavy roller in the innings break did the trick for them, it became a beautiful wicket and they could play on the up. There is a game tomorrow and even if we lose 3-2 then we can keep our head high.

Chasing was one thing we were talking about because we were not able to do that in the first T20. It feels good but the job is not done, we have one more game. This is a great team. I haven't had the discussion with the coach and if there are any changes then I will let you know at the toss.

“Today you just have to hold up our hands and say they batted us out of this game,” Raza said at the end. “We weren’t able to chase in the first match, so very pleasing to do that today,” Gill added. In the end, it was a one-sided contest just a week after a famous Zimbabwe win set up the series quite fascinatingly.

Washington Sundar, who has otherwise had a fine series with the ball so far, was hit over midwicket on the longer side by a brilliant Raza slog. Khaleel Ahmed went for 18 runs in an expensive 17th over. Ravi Bishnoi conceded five wides with a wild delivery in the 18th. But Tushar Deshpande, expensive on debut, dismissed Raza and Khaleel closed out with a double-wicket 20th over as India ended up conceding 54 runs off the last 30 balls.

A target of 153 did however feel sub-par despite Raza hoping the pitch would slow down further. The key to the chase was the start Jaiswal provided, racing to a 29-ball half-century, while Gill took his time. The skipper was on 15 off 16, then smashed a six over extra cover off Raza for a shot-of-the-series contender. In the very next over, he slapped two forehand square cuts for two fours, and followed by a punch past mid-off. His strike rate went from below 100 to 160 in the space of 2 overs and he finished unbeaten on a 39-ball 58.

But an impressive 63-run partnership came to an end thanks to India’s part-timers. Marumani was playing well but as it happens against a non-regular bowler, a not-so-great ball ened up resulting in a wicket. Abhishek, who didn’t get to bat but showed once more that he is a handy bowler in a T20 set-up, struck first with a short ball but benefited due to the longer boundary on one side. Zimbabwe’s next wicket would fall the same way, as Shivam Dube too got in on the act the very next over to dismiss Madhever.

India applied the brakes just enough before Raza’s fireworks. Speaking at the toss, captain Gill identified death overs bowling as an area of concern for this Indian bowling unit. Death bowling is not supposed to be easy. If it were, cricket would perhaps use a less ominous phrase to describe it. And so India leaked some runs in the backend, thanks mainly to the aggressive approach of Raza.

Sample this for his dominance: Zimbabwe hit 10 fours in their 20 overs as they made a fairly solid 152/7. But the Indian openers hit 10 fours in the first 4 overs, with Jaiswal racing off the blocks to hit 8 of those himself. He finished with three fours more than Zimbabwe (13) and one fewer six (2) as India broke the run-chase early to cruise through to the finish line.

It wasn’t all bad from Sikandar Raza’s men though. Having been asked to bat first, they had their best start to a batting innings this series. Their highest opening partnership before this match was 9. But after a couple of superb deliveries from Khaleel Ahmed to start the match, Wessly Madhevere and Tadiwanashe Marumani found some early momentum. An overthrow for four, balls strayed on the pads, and a dropped catch (albeit a tough one) by Shivam Dube all played a part as India struggled to breakthrough.

Two Saturdays apart, the mood couldn’t have been more different in Harare. After being bowled out for 102 while chasing 116 in the first T20I, India overpowered Zimbabwe in the fourth match, winning by 10 wickets to clinch the series 3-1. Sure, it was on a fresh pitch – one where the ball came along quite nicely with the new ball especially – but it still underscored how India have managed to turn things around after that rusty start.

And leading that charge was Yashasvi Jaiswal. How do you tell an opener who just smashed a 47-ball 100 with 10 sixes that you have to bat at No 3 immediately from the next match? Suppose it becomes easier to explain when the player replacing you at the top is someone as talented as Jaiswal. Abhishek Sharma’s stunning century in the second match notwithstanding, India went with Jaiswal as Shubman Gill’s opening partner the moment the Mumbaikar was available to play and he offered up a reminder that he deserved that every bit with a boundary-filled 53-ball 93. India scored 156/0 to canter home after arguably Zimbabwe’s best batting performance in the series wasn’t nearly enough.

The live streaming of the IND vs ZIM, T20I series in India will be available on the Sony Liv app and website at 4:30 PM.

The maximum temperature of Sunday’s game is 26 degrees centigrade according to Accuweather.com. There is no chance of rainfall and since the game is in the noon both captains need not worry about the dew factor.

The pitch at Harare Sports Club though has been changed for games but the innate nature has been conducive for all departments. Apart from the second T20I where Zimbabwe missed chances in the field which contributed to India’s massive 200+ total all the surfaces has given everyone something to work with.

Matches played: 12, 

India won: 9, 

Zimbabwe won: 3

Despite the thrashing Zimbabwe took in the series one shining light for them is Muzarambani. He troubled both Indian skipper Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad throughout the campaign consistently. If Zimbabwe has any chance of winning the game it has to come from a destructive spell from the tall fast bowler who bowls at a brisk pace as well.