On Saturday, July 6, Zimbabwe registered a historic win by 13 runs against the newly crowned T20 World Cup champions India in the first of five T20I matches in the series at the Harare Sports Club in Harare. The captain Sikandar Raza and Tendai Chatara picked up three wickets each, to help Zimbabwe defend the 115-run total successfully.
For the unversed, the Indian captain, Shubman Gill, won the toss and decided to send Zimbabwe into batting first. In the second over, Mukesh Kumar dismissed Innocent Kaia for a golden duck to give India a very good start in the powerplay.
Following a decent 36-run stand for the second wicket between Wessly Madhevere and Brian Bennett, it was Ravi Bishnoi, who castled both the batters in their 20s, to put India in a strong position. The Indian bowlers kept the Zimbabwean batters in check right throughout the innings, restricting them to 115/9.
Ravi Bishnoi and Washington Sundar shared six wickets amongst themselves, while Clive Madande top-scored for Zimbabwe with 29 off 25.
In pursuit of a 116-run target, India had the worst possible start, losing the debutant Abhishek Sharma’s wicket for no score in the first over, who found Wellington Masakadza at deep mid-wicket region while trying to hit a six off Brian Bennett. It led to a procession of wickets falling in the Indian innings, including names like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rinku Singh, and the debutants Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel, who walked back to the pavilion with single-digit scores.
The captain Shubman Gill tried to keep the Indian innings intact at the other end, but he lost his wicket for 31 off 29 to Sikandar Raza, who shattered his stumps. Ravi Bishnoi and Avesh Khan struck a few boundaries to keep India in the hunt, but their hopes were firmly pinned on Washington Sundar to do something special in the end. Zimbabwe bowled out India at 102 runs with one ball remaining.
But, Tendai Chatara and Sikandar Raza, who picked up three wickets each, found a way to restrict Washington Sundar and the Indian tailenders. Chatara picked up the final wicket of Sundar for 27 off 34 on the second last ball of the match, to bundle out India for 102 runs.