After getting a rousing start to the innings, India could have compiled more than 271 runs against Zimbabwe in the second ODI match of the series.
But, towards the fag end of their innings, Zimbabwean bowlers did put in a great effort to restrict the visitors. In the end, Neville Madziva claimed four wickets to his credit to produce the best bowling figure of his career.
Earlier, Zimbabwe won the toss and opted to field on a Harare Sports Club pitch that was conducive for stroke making. The Indian openers – Ajinkya Rahane (63 off 83 balls) and Murali Vijay (72 from 95 balls) – started off cautiously and attached a price tag to their wickets.
Their approach paid rich dividends, as they shared 112-run stand for the opening wicket. This partnership also laid the foundation for a big score beyond 300. But, thereafter, the Indian batting didn’t explode the way it happens after a team gets a good start.
There was a lack of momentum. With the top stars not playing the series, Ambati Rayudu once again came into his element to score 41 runs for his team. But he got out just when it was time for him to accelerate.
The rest of the lower middle-order tried to throw their bat against disciplined Zimbabwean bowling, but there was a lack of uniform effort to take the Indian score beyond the 300-mark.
A 270 plus total shouldn’t hurt India’s chances in the match and help Rahane and his men to seal the series in the second ODI itself, but there are still a few nuances of the game which the team needs to address. For now, it was a much better show than the last ODI!
