July 20, 2015 by admin

India finish Zim tour with a loss

Harare, July 20
India’s quest to maintain a clean slate on their Zimbabwe tour went up in smoke as they suffered a 10-run loss in the second and final T20I here today.
Chasing 146 for a win, India were looking down the barrel at 69 for five after nine overs. Stuart Binny (24) and debutant Sanju Samson (19) played useful cameos, but the visitors still fell short at the Harare Sports Club.
India, who won the ODI series 3-0, thus finished with a 1-1 stalemate in the two-match T20I series.
India suffered an early blow, losing skipper Ajinkya Rahane in the very first over. He was run out after a mix-up with his partner Murali Vijay.
Vijay (13) and Robin Uthappa (40) then added 53 runs in 34 balls before the former was sent packing by leg-spinner Graeme Cremer, who toppled his off-stump in the seventh over. Three balls later, Cremer struck again when he trapped Manish Pandey in front of the wicket with a googly, leaving India at 57-3.
In the next over, Sean Williams caught and bowled Uthappa, who was looking good till then. Kedar Jadhav, too, was run out when Taurai Muzarabani produced a direct hit as India lost half their side in nine overs.
Binny and Samson raised some hopes with a 36-run partnership, but the former was sent back by Cremer, with Chamu Chibhabha holding on to a stunning catch.
In the 18th over, Samson holed out at long-on with Malcolm Waller taking the catch off Chris Mpofu as India slipped to 117-7.
Axar Patel (13) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (9), too, perished in the process as India ended their campaign with a loss.
Earlier, India took wickets at regular intervals to deny momentum to the home side. Opener Chibhabha, however, ensured that Zimbabwe put up a respectable total with a superb 51-ball 67.