NEW DELHI: Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Ruturaj Gaikwad’s impressive batting performances pushed India to a total of 182 for four against Zimbabwe in the third T20 match on Wednesday.
India made some interesting selection choices after opting to bat on a new pitch. They included World Cup winners Jaiswal (36 off 27), Sanju Samson (12 not out off 7), and Shivam Dube in the playing eleven, while excluding players like Riyan Parag in the middle order.
Sanju batted at number five, following four specialist openers: Jaiswal, Gill (66 off 49), Abhishek Sharma (10 off 9), and Gaikwad (49 off 28). Jaiswal, who was not part of India’s victorious T20 World Cup squad, was eager to make an impression and attacked aggressively from the beginning.
Zimbabwe’s fielding was below par, as they gave away extra runs and dropped straightforward catches throughout the innings. Pacer Blessing Muzarabani (2/25) consistently extracted extra bounce from his deliveries and was the standout bowler for Zimbabwe.
India’s scoring rate slowed after a rapid start, with the team reaching 55 runs in the powerplay with both openers still at the crease. Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza impressed with the ball once again, providing a crucial breakthrough when Jaiswal’s reverse sweep went straight to the fielder at backward point.
Abhishek, who scored a century in the previous game, did not last long and was caught in the deep off Raza’s bowling. Gaikwad, batting in an unfamiliar position, managed to score runs against the spinners in the middle overs, finishing with four boundaries and three sixes.