Tilak, Kishan, bowlers help India drub Zimbabwe by 90 runs
Power-packed fifties by Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma worked well with bowlers’ diligence as India trumped Zimbabwe by 90 runs in the second T20I to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series here on Saturday. Chasing 220 was never going to be easy for the Africans and the fate of the match was sealed when they lost five wickets inside 9 overs.
Eventually they were bundled out for 129, well short of India’s 219 for five, which was constructed around Kishan’s 81 and Tilak’s unbeaten 60. The series win will also give new T20I skipper Shreyas Iyer a big relief after losing two consecutive series against Ireland (0-2) and England (0-4). However, Zimbabwe started the hunt in earnest through Brian Bennett (32, 19b, 3x4, 3x6), who creamed debutant pacer Yash Thakur for a six and four in a row.
But Thakur (2/30) extracted a quick revenge, as an attempted ramp did not go past wicketkeeper Kishan. Once the first blood was drawn, Indian bowlers did not let the Zimbabwe batters off the hook.
There were little pockets of fight, such as 20s by Ryan Burl and Tadi Marumani but nothing good enough to challenge the Indian bowlers for a sustained period.
Even part-timers Tilak and Abhishek Sharma (3/17) found themselves in the list of wicket-takers as India completed the stroll. But circumstances that led to the employment of part-timers might just give India some worries. Pacer Prince Yadav (2/10 in 1.2 overs) walked off with a clutched hamstring, casting a shadow over such a dominant victory and raising another question about the team’s injury management system.
The genesis of that landslide win was in India’s intent-filled batting effort led by Kishan and Tilak. Asked to bat first India were in early trouble at 29 for two. But Kishan first made 66 runs for the third wicket with skipper Shreyas Iyer (25) and then a 94 for the subsequent wicket with Tilak as the tourists overcame the early wobble. Kishan paced his knock to a nicety as he focused on giving some stability to Indian innings. The left-hander brought his fifty in 31 balls, but the next 31 runs came in 13 balls as he pressed on the accelerator. The onside play was the hallmark of his innings, peppering the regions around mid-wicket with constant big hits. Off-spinner Bennett was clobbered for two fours to that part of the field while pacer Brad Evans was punished for 4, 4 and a 6 through the onside. Tilak, on the other hand, doused the talks about his strike-rate for now, playing a sensational supporting innings and reached fifty in 23 balls.
The left-hander smoked Zimbabwe’s best bowler Blessing Muzarabani for three fours in a row, and the third one was a peach - a nice, little dab behind the point using the bowler’s pace. Brute power was on display too when Tilak lifted Evans for a six over mid-wicket.
Their assault was so faultless as India amassed 61 runs in the last five overs.
Before Kishan marshalled India’s innings around him, India lost openers Abhishek and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi early. Abhishek softly lobbed Muzarabani to Ryan Burl at point. Sooryavanshi looked set for his second successive fifty, reaching 20 off 9 balls that contained a sequence of 4, 6, 4, 4 off Richard Ngarava. But Ngarava had the last laugh, as Sooryavanshi skied a into-the-body bouncer to Muzarabani at mid-on. But from thereon, it was India’s show all the way.
