Twitter Reactions: Yashasvi's record, Sanju Samson special and bowlers pummel Zimbabwe to win the final T20I

India beat Zimbabwe by 42 runs in the final T20I to clinch the series by a 4-1 margin on Sunday.

By Vibhanshu Kumar

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4 Min Read

Sanju Samson
info
Sanju Samson. (Source - BCCI)

Hosts Zimbabwe (ZIM) squared off against the visiting side Team India (IND) in the fifth and final T20I of the series at the renowned Harare Sports Club in Harare, on Sunday, July 14. Notably this game was supposedly a dead rubber for the Men in Blue as they have already clinched the series.

After winning the toss, Zimbabwean skipper Sikandar Raza invited the young Indian side to bat first. Fascinatingly enough, Raza decided to open the bowling for the hosts but ended up getting himself enlisted in an unwanted club. Notably, the ravishing opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was in some ominous mood as he smacked the spinner for two consecutive sixes off the first delivery of the game being a 'No ball'. As a result, Jaiswal scripted history by becoming the first batter in the history of men's T20Is to have scored 13 runs off one legal delivery.

However, Raza made a great comeback by dismissing Jaiswal (12 off 5 balls) by cleaning him up. The visitors would have wanted to make merry of the explosive start young Jaiswal gave to Team India, but Zimbabwe came up with some brilliant bowling to keep the visitors under check. As a result, India lost two more wickets in quick succession in the form of Abhishek Sharma (14 off 11 balls) and skipper Shubman Gill (13 off 14 balls) inside the powerplay stage of the game. At that stage, the Indian side were reeling at 40/3.

Thereafter, the experienced Sanju Samson arrived at the crease and got into the act of steadying the ship for Team India. The World Champion played a sensible fifty (58 off 45 balls) along with Riyan Parag (22 off 24 balls), who supported well from the other end to stitch a crucial 65-run stand. Consequently, the Men in Blue pulled things back as allrounder Shivam Dube provided the final flourish with a vital cameo (26 off 12 balls) as India posted 167/6 on the board.

For the hosts, speedsters Richard Ngarava (1/29) and Blessing Muzarabani (2/19) were the notable performers with the ball. In reply, Zimbabwe had a terrible start as the pacer Mukesh Kumar yet again gave an early jolt to the hosts on just the third delivery in the run chase. Kumar struck again by dismissing Brian Bennett. Soon after, the willy offspinner Washington Sundar and Shivam Dube joined the party as the hosts kept losing wickets at regular intervals.

For icing on the cake, Dube inflicted a brilliant run out to send Sikandar Raza packing as the half the side was back in the hut as Zimbabwe stuttered 87/5 in 13.4 overs. In the end, allrounder Faraz Akram tried to show some resistance with his vital knock (27 off 13 balls) in a bid to keep the hosts in the hunt. But it was not meant to be as Mukesh Kumar struck yet again in the penultimate over as Team India sealed the game by 42 runs and the T20I series by a 4-1 margin.

Meanwhile, here's how the fans reacted to the fifth T20I between Zimbabwe and India:

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Zimbabwe vs India 2024IndiaZimbabweYashasvi JaiswalPankaj JaiswalShubman GillSanju SamsonSikandar RazaZIM v IND