Sanju Samson hammered the ball down the ground for the massive after Brandon Mavuta put it up outside off stump.
India won the series 4-1 after vice-captain Sanju Samson scored his second T20I fifty in a 45-ball knock, and fast bowler Mukesh Kumar achieved career-best numbers in the format with 4-22 as India defeated Zimbabwe by 42 runs in the series’ fifth and final game at the Harare Sports Club.
After losing their top three batters in the powerplay, Sanju Samson was at his lethargy best, hitting four fours and four sixes in his knock and putting on a 65-run partnership off of 56 balls with Riyan Parag to get India out of trouble.
During the match, the wicketkeeper-batter hammered a 110-meter six. Due to its immense size, the ball lifted off the ground.
After Brandon Mavuta threw the ball outside off stump, Sanju Samson crushed it into the ground for the game-winning run.
Even though Sanju Samson made a vital half-century, Dube’s short 26-run cameo and Rinku Singh’s big finishing blows helped India to a competitive 167/6, with 30 runs coming off the final two overs. Mukesh scored two goals with the fresh ball in response, putting Zimbabwe in early danger.
Dion Myers and Tadiwanashe Marumani kept Zimbabwe in the hunt, but a collapse saw the hosts slip from 85/3 to 94/7 and eventually be all out for 125 in 18.3 overs. India became victorious in the series after losing the first game by 13 runs.
Wesley Madhevere’s cut onto Mukesh’s stumps in the opening over gave India a fantastic start in their defense of 168. When the pacer returned to the third over, the third man caught Brian Bennett after flashing violently outside the off-stump. He might have claimed his third wicket if he had not stepped out as he dismissed Myers.
With seven shared boundaries, Myers and Marumani spearheaded Zimbabwe’s resistance with a third-wicket partnership of 44 runs off 36 balls. However, in the ninth over, Washington Sundar ended the partnership by lbw-ing a sweeping Marumani with a slower delivery.
To keep Zimbabwe moving forward, Myers struck Abhishek Sharma for a four and a six, but in the 13th over, Dube removed him with a short ball, limiting the batter’s space and catching him off a leading edge by backward point.
Zimbabwe was knocked out cold when Sikandar Raza was run out in a mix-up with Jonathan Campbell by a straight blow from Dube, who removed the latter in the following over. After that, Mukesh claimed the final two wickets to complete with a four-fer as Abhishek and Tushar Deshpande each claimed a wicket, giving India another comprehensive victory.
On the opening two balls of the innings, including off a no-ball, Yashasvi Jaiswal hit Raza for two straight sixes, giving India an explosive start. However, Raza retaliated by forcing the ball to arrive late and bypass Jaiswal’s on-drive effort, causing the leg-stump to walk.
Bennett dropped Abhishek off Blessing Muzarabani at cover-point, and the left-hander was fortunate to be caught behind an angled across delivery to Madande, but the pacer recovered.
When Shubman Gill attempted to top-edge a pull to mid-on, Richard Ngarava dismissed him because he didn’t appear to be playing with much fluency at the crease. Sanju Samson significantly contributed to India’s innings reconstruction, hitting three incredible sixes with his exquisite bat swing, including a devastating 110-meter blast.
The breakthrough came from Brandon Mavuta for Zimbabwe when Parag misplayed his loft to long-off. However, Sanju Samson stormed forward, hitting boundaries to reach fifty, and then he fell for a 45-ball fifty-eighth wicket off Muzarabani by drawing straight to deep mid-wicket.
Before being run out in the last over due to a misunderstanding with Rinku, Dube blasted four thunderous boundaries in his 12-ball 26. In the previous over, Rinku hit 14 runs, including a six off the ground from Faraz Akram.
In addition to their poor batting performances, Zimbabwe’s fielding suffered from three missed opportunities and several fumbles, which harmed them throughout the series. Blessing Muzarabani was their best bowler, taking 2/19 in his four overs.
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