In the second T20 International of the series, India upped the ante in all departments to beat Zimbabwe by 90 runs under the captaincy of new skipper Shreyas Iyer.
The Indian bowlers defended a difficult 220 and bundled out Zimbabwe for only 129 in 17.5 overs giving the hosts little opportunity of a successful chase. Iyer picked up his first series win as the skipper and India chalked up a lead event before the last test.
The Indian bowlers had not been too patient with Zimbabwe when their own maximum-length hitter was behind the ball. Taking the early losses, the hosts simply couldn’t recover from that in the powerplay. The disciplined bowling of captain Sikandar Raza’s side meant they were unable to chase the mammoth target.
Abhishek Sharma got from the ball to be an outstanding player with a 3 for 17 record. Debutant Yash Thakur had a memorable outing with two wickets and Prince Yadav also had two scalps to his name, but his injury might be a worry for the visitors.
India claimed the victory, but the injury to Prince Yadav took centre stage in the game. The team had been beaten on two occasions by Ireland and England, so the win over Zimbabwe was a confidence builder.
It was a chance Zimbabwe had missed to capitalize on India’s struggles. The hosts admittedly struggled to defend in both innings, leaving home team pressure aside, but in the third and final T20I will be hosted on the very same ground, the away side is likely to be quiet this time around as well.