ZIM v IND, 2nd ODI: Five Talking points

The Indians claimed an impressive eight-wicket win as they thrashed a hapless Zimbabwe in the second ODI of the ZIM v IND series. The win also witnesses India’s young brigade clinch the ODI series as they now boast of an unassailable 2-0 lead. While the first ODI was all about KL Rahul, this ODI was all about his RCB teammate Yuzvendra Chahal. The 25-year old leggie claimed 3 wickets and sparked a Zimbabwe collapse. Ambati Rayudu guided the Indians home with a well-made 41. That said, here are five talking points from the encounter.

1. Sran and Kulkarni land early blows

Having impressed in the first ODI, MS Dhoni retained the services of Barinder Sran and Dhawal Kulkarni. With the conditions extremely overcast, Sran and Kulkarni succeeded in extracting swing early on in the innings. Sran removed Masakadza early on in the innings after which he dismissed Peter Moor in his very next over. Dhawal Kulkarni dismissed the dangerous looking Chamu Chibhabha . Both seamers concluded with 2 wickets apiece.

2. Yuzvendra Chahal shines with three wickets

The 25-year old Yuzvendra Chahal is a smart bowler. With his keen ability to change the pace and turn off the delivery, Chahal proved to be one of the standout players in the second ODI. The RCB leg-spinner, in spite of being slightly on the more expensive side, claimed three wickets as he triggered a Zimbabwean collapse. Among his three wickets was the scalp of Vusi Sibanda who had cracked an impressive half-century.

3. Vusi Sibanda cracks half-century

Vusi Sibanda has been somewhat of a caged lion in his time with the Zimbabwe cricket team. However, on the day, Sibanda took his opportunity with both hands as he smashed a marvelous half-century amid the ruins of the Zimbabwean batting innings. Sibanda played the difficult and challenging conditions well as he smashed 53 off 69 deliveries. His compilations included six boundaries and a solitary six. This eventually went on to become the only six of the match.

4. KL Rahul and Karun Nair get India off to a solid start

KL Rahul and Karun Nair went out to open the batting as they had done in the previous ODI. Riding on his impressive century in the first ODI, the confidence for KL Rahul was certainly high. He smashed the ball all over the park, smashing a few elegant cuts right through square and point. However, Rahul was cleaned up by Chibhabha shortly after the lunch break, Karun Nair coasted on. He smashed 39 runs before being trapped leg-before by Sikandar Raza. However, by then, the Indians required just 2 runs for victory.

5. Ambati Rayudu guides India home

Each time 30-year old Ambati Rayudu goes out to bat there is something that lets you know that he will perform. Having played a fantastic hand in his first ODI, Rayudu played yet another gem of an innings as the Indians cruised to victory with little or no problems. Rayudu smashed an impressive 41 and remained unbeaten as Manish Pandey went on to smash a boundary to hit the winning runs.