The young Indian team put up a sloppy batting display to lose the first T20I in Harare.
A new-look Indian team, led by Shubman Gill, put up a sloppy batting display to lose the first T20I of the five-match series against Zimbabwe by 13 runs in Harare on Saturday (July 6).
Fresh from their T20 World Cup triumph, the Men in Blue chose to field a young side, handing three debut caps in the series opener. But the young batters failed to deliver as the visitors were bowled out for 102 in 19.5 overs in pursuit of a target of 116.
This was India’s first defeat in the shortest format of the game in 2014, and skipper Gill admitted that they were not up to the mark with the bat.
“We bowled pretty well, we let ourselves down in the field. We were not up to standard and everyone looked a bit rusty. We spoke about taking time and enjoying our batting but it didn't pan out that way,” Gill said at the post-match presentation.
Shubman Gill, who was India’s top scorer in the chase with 31 off 29 balls, also rued his dismissal. He was cleaned up by his Zimbabwean counterpart Sikandar Raza during the 11th over.
“Halfway through we had lost 5 wickets, would've been best for us if I stayed there till the end, very disappointed with the way I got out and the rest of the match panned out. There was a bit of hope for us but when you're chasing 115 and your No.10 batter is out there, you know something is wrong,” Gill added.
Reacting to India’s unexpected loss, veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said it’s a big result for the Zimbabwe side.
“Big big result for ???????? Zimbabwe. The cricket community there must be elated,” Ashwin tweeted.
Coming to the match, leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi (4 for 3) registered his career-best figures as India restricted Zimbabwe to 115/9 in 20 overs after Shubman Gill won the toss and elected to bowl first.
In the second half, Zimbabwe bowlers were even better. Skipper Sikandar Raza led from the front with his tidy 3/25 from his spin bowling, while pacer Tendai Chatara bagged 3/16 from 3.5 overs.