By: Tarish Bhatt
It was as close as it could get. Zimbabwe did their best, and so does India. But, eventually, India managed to hold their nerves and clinched the series decider by a narrow three-run margin.
Infact, Zimbabwe had too much to do in Barinder Sran’s last over. Timycen Maruma did his best to bring Zimbabwe within touching distance of the win, but Sran held his nerves to dismisses Elton Chigumbura in the final ball.
That was exactly the game India wanted. A pressure match with plenty at stake, and it went exactly like that. The pendulum swung one way to the other giving the young Indian team a taste of pressure situations.
Earlier, Zimbabwe made a brave decision of putting India to bat. Their decision paid dividend when India were left reeling at 27 for three. Kedar Jadhav, meanwhile, played a quality knock under pressure to bail India out.
Jadhav struck a brilliant fifty under pressure and helped India post a competitive total on an uneven track. Axar Patel and Ambati Rayudu also made useful contributions and stitched useful partnerships with Jadhav.
India posted 138, which was by no mean a par total in Harare. But, Indian bowlers showed resilience and picked wickets whenever a partnership seemed to be flourishing.
Almost all Zimbabwean batsmen got starts but none of them managed to capitalise on it. Some lusty blows from Peter Moor and Maruma kept Zimbabwe in the match, which turned out to be sensational.
