IND vs ZIM Review: Brilliant Suryakumar takes charge against Zimbabwe
India registered a big 71-run win against Zimbabwe in the 42nd match of the T20 World Cup 2022 tournament to finish at top of the Super 12 Group 2 table with eight points. South Africa’s shocking loss against the Netherlands in the early match on Sunday (November 6) secured India’s place in the semi-final spot and a win against Zimbabwe confirmed that they will be facing England in the semi-final round.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to bat at Melbourne Cricket Ground with one change to the squad. His struggle for the big knock continued as he lost his wicket to Wellington Masakadza in the fourth over. In-form KL Rahul and Virat Kohli then formed a big 60-run partnership for the second wicket to keep India on track. Sean Williams dismissed Kohli on 26 runs while Rahul smashed 51 runs off 35 balls before getting out in the 13th over.
Rishabh Pant lost his wicket on just three runs as India struggled for stability in the middle overs. But the world no.1 batter Suryakumar Yadav continued his red-hot form with an unbeaten 61 runs off just 25 balls to guide India to a huge 186/5 total. For Zimbabwe, Sean Williams took two wickets for nine but pacers Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava proved costly.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed opener Wessly Madhevere on the innings’ first ball with Kohli taking a brilliant catch. Then the in-form youngster Arshdeep Singh bowled out Regis Chakabva in the second over to put India in complete control of the game. Zimbabwe were struggling at 36/5 when Mohammad Shami dismissed Munyonga in the eighth over.
Ryan Burl scored 35 runs off just 22 balls and Sikandar Raza smashed 34 runs off 24 balls to keep the fight on for Zimbabwe. But Indian bowlers proved too strong and bowled out Zimbabwe on 115 runs in 17.2 overs to record a big 71-run win. For India, Ravichandran Ashwin took three wickets while conceding just 22 runs and Suryakumar won the player of the match for his unbeaten 61-run knock.
Top Performers of the match:
Suryakumar Yadav:
Once again, Suryakumar played a big knock to continue his dominance as the world no.1 batter in T20I cricket. He smashed 61 runs off 25 balls with the help of six fours and four sixes at a strike rate off 244.00.
Ravichandran Ashwin:
The veteran Indian spinner had been struggling for the wickets in the tournament but proved his value by taking three wickets while conceding only 22 runs from his four-over spell.
What next?
India next face England in the T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final clash at Adelaide Oval on November 10.
