After an embarrassing defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe in the first T20I, India outclassed the hosts in the second match in Harare. There was tremendous pressure on the youngsters as Shubman Gill, Riyan Parag and Rinku Singh were heavily criticized for their poor performance in the first match. In the second game, the Men in Blue were determined to bounce back as they picked up a comfortable win of 100 runs.
Batting first, skipper Gill once again failed to make a mark. He was dismissed for two runs but that didn’t bother the mindset of other players. The other opener Abhishek Sharma, wreaked havoc by smashing 100 runs off 47 deliveries. He took some time to settle down but once he did, it was raining boundaries in Harare. Ruturaj Gaikwad supported him well in the middle. The Pune-born cricketer eventually hit 77* runs off 47 deliveries, which crushed the spirit of the hosts.
Towards the end, Rinku Singh played a blistering knock of 48* runs off 22 balls. He looked ruthless and courtesy of his ferocious innings, India posted 234 runs in the first innings.
Also Read – Twitter Reactions: Abhishek Sharma’s maiden T20I ton sees India post humongous total against Zimbabwe
When it came to the run chase, Zimbabwe struggled right from the beginning. Mukesh Kumar delivered with the new ball picking up the wickets of Innocent Kaia and Brian Bennett. On the other hand, Avesh Khan picked up the wickets of Dion Myers and Sikandar Raza, which pushed Zimbabwe out of the contest. Ravi Bishnoi and Washington Sundar dominated in the middle overs and India would be elated with their incredible performance in the second T20I.
With the win, India have levelled the series 1-1. Interestingly, they decided to bench Khaleel Ahmed in the second T20I and brought in an extra batter in Sai Sudharsan. However, he wasn’t required in the second match and it needs to be seen if the team backs the same strategy in the third match, especially when other batters looked on song.
Here’s how X (Twitter) reacted to ZIM vs IND second T20I game:
Unleashed ⭐️#AbhishekSharma #INDvZIM pic.twitter.com/jmyYp9wXRG
— Surbhi Vaid (@vaid_surbhi) July 7, 2024
“Rinku Singh” is a SIX hitting machine 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/SnCBxGptAg
— Arpit Verma (@Aarycrky) July 7, 2024
The century celebration of Abhishek Sharma. 🌟 pic.twitter.com/ZTX7lzeuH7
— Mohit__ Dewasi_64( परिवार) (@dewasi64) July 7, 2024
India posted 234 vs Zimbabwe
– Abhishek Sharma: 100 in 47 balls
– Ruturaj Gaikwad: 77* in 47 balls
– Rinku Singh: 48* in 22 balls
New young blues 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/7cwJsduy56
— CricStrick (@CricStrickAP) July 7, 2024
It’s all gods plan #RinkuSingh
— Surya Kumar Yadav (@surya_14kumar) July 7, 2024
MUKESH KUMAR ON STRICK..💥
FIRST BREAK THROUGH..🙌#INDvsZIMOnSonyLiv pic.twitter.com/qmaxIep5re
— SubhankaR (@Subhank88331491) July 7, 2024
Glenn McGrath was never as good as Mukesh Kumar McGrath.
When Mukesh bowls Bowling Coach also takes the notes to improve his Coaching Skills.pic.twitter.com/d2RxrqjSwR
— Sujeet Suman (@sujeetsuman1991) July 6, 2024
INDIA DEFEATED ZIMBABWE TO LEVEL THE SERIES 1-1. 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/7RiJHMjVNW
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) July 7, 2024
TEAM INDIA BEAT ZIMBABWE IN THE SECOND T20I BY 100 RUNS…!!!! 🇮🇳
– Team India level this T20I series by 1-1. pic.twitter.com/LBJbOsjRK6
— Tanuj Singh (@ImTanujSingh) July 7, 2024
INDIA DEFEATED ZIMBABWE TO LEVEL THE SERIES 1-1. 🇮🇳#INDvZIM pic.twitter.com/ewYbUFF8l2
— chanchal sarkar (@cricxnews140982) July 7, 2024