ZIM vs IND: Top 5 performers from ODI Series
India sealed a brilliant 3-0 victory against Zimbabwe in the recently concluded ODI series away from home. Powerful performances by the Men in Blue helped the Indian side to end one more series in a whitewash, after recently winning the ODI series against West Indies by 3-0. But nevertheless, the Zimbabwe unit also possessed players who acted as a threat to India.
India won the first game by a huge margin of 10 wickets as Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill finished off the 189-run chase with sheer ease. In the second game, India lost five wickets during the chase, but still managed to win the game and win the series early, with the final ODI to spare. The hosts- Zimbabwe came very close to winning the game in the third ODI, but the Indian bowlers did well and restricted them to winning the match by 13 runs.
On that note, let us have a look at the top five performers of the ODI series:
Deepak Chahar
It surely was a memorable series for Deepak Chahar, who marked his return to international cricket after more than five months. In the very first game of the series, he won the player of the match for his 3/27 in seven overs. After resting in the second game, he went on to add two more wickets under his belt in the third ODI to take the final tally to five wickets from two games.
Brad Evans
Brad Evans was not much impressive in the first two games but stole the limelight in the third and decider game, where he bagged a brilliant five-wicket haul. After going wicketless in the first two ODIs, he gave a nightmare of time to the Indian batters in the final game as he dismissed the Indian top-order batters Dhawan, KL Rahul, and Gill alongside Deepak Hooda and Shardul Thakur.
Axar Patel
The emerging all-rounder impressed everyone with his spin-bowling skills. He maintained the finest average as compared to all the other bowlers from the two teams. In the three matches, he scalped six wickets, and never went wicketless in any game. He picked three wickets in the first game, one in the second and two in the third game to end up as the highest wicket-taker of the tournament.
Sikandar Raza
The prolific Zimbabwe batter emerged as a major threat for the Indian side with his all-round brilliance. Throughout the three-match series, he was among the runs, and also managed to pick one wicket. He ended up as the third-highest run-getter in the series after Gill and Shikhar Dhawan with a total of 143 runs, which also included one century.
Shubman Gill
Gill is one of the most consistent Indian batters from the current lot in ODIs. After an impressive performance with the bat in the Caribbean nation, falling short of just two runs from his maiden ODI ton, Gill finally achieved the feat in the third ODI against Zimbabwe, as he scored 130 runs off 97 deliveries to guide India to a win.