India defeated Zimbabwe by 35 runs in the third and final T20I to register a 3-0 clean sweep at Harare Sports Club on Sunday (July 26).
Opting to bat first, the visitors posted a formidable 192/5 on the board, courtesy of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's explosive 81-run knock off 49 balls.
During the chase, Ryan Burl scored an unbeaten fifty (54) but lacked support from the other end as the hosts were restricted to 157/7 in 20 overs.
This result marked India’s first T20I series win under the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer after a recent tough assignment in the UK.
Following the third T20I, skipper Iyer and interim head coach VVS Laxman applauded each other’s role in the triumph.
In a dressing room video released by BCCI on social media, Laxman spoke in detail about Iyer's tough mindset.
"I would like to specially congratulate Shreyas because he had a rough start to his captaincy career but the way he came back, right from the first day when he joined us one day before the first game, he was very optimistic," Laxman said, referring to the 0-2 and 0-4 defeats to Ireland and England respectively.
"It's a new group of players. We know that only four or five of those who were there in England joined us on this tour. But he was so confident and a lot of credit for this victory should be given to the captain, the way he encouraged each one of you," he added.
Iyer expressed gratitude to Laxman, who stepped in as the interim coach for this short tour as regular coach Gautam Gambhir and his senior support staff were granted a break following a grueling UK tour.
"I think we were flawless, honestly speaking, throughout the series barring the catches that we dropped. It was a phenomenal effort by everyone in the team, including the support staff.
"Thank you VVS sir for motivating us and inspiring us. Each and every day when we stepped onto the field, I think everything that you mentioned was apt and we could relate to it. So, thank you so much," he said.
