Harare, Zimbabwe: Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 93 not out off 53 balls as India beat Zimbabwe by 10 wickets in the fourth T20 to claim the five-match series 3-1 on Saturday. Jaiswal hit 13 fours and two sixes as he put on an unbroken 156-run opening stand with skipper Shubman Gill, who finished unbeaten on 58 off 39 balls. This was after Zimbabwe was restricted to 152-7 in 20 overs.
Skipper Sikandar Raza top-scored with 46 runs, while left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed picked 2-32. Zimbabwe had won the first T20 by 13 runs, while India had won back-to-back in the second and third games by 100 runs and 23 runs, respectively. The fifth game will be played on Sunday.
Put into bat, Zimbabwe made a steady start with openers Wessly Madhevere (25) and Tadiwanashe Marumani (32) putting on 63 off 52 balls. Part-time spinner Abhishek Sharma got the breakthrough, with India’s second tier attack getting into the act. Shivam Dube sent back Madhevere and then Washington Sundar had Brian Bennett caught for 9.
Zimbabwe was down to 96-4 when Jonathan Campbell was run out after a mix-up with Raza, as Ravi Bishnoi hit the stumps. Raza held the innings together, hitting three sixes and two fours, but the lower order didn’t provide enough support as the hosts barely made it past 150. It was a below-par score on the best batting surface of the series, as showcased by Jaiswal racing to 50 off 29 balls while hitting nine fours.
He scored another 43 off just 24 balls, this time with another four fours and two sixes. Jaiswal and Gill put on 100 runs off only 58 balls, with Gill getting a second consecutive half-century off 35 balls. India got home with 28 balls to spare even as Jaiswal missed out on a second T20 hundred.
It was India’s second 10-wicket win in T20s, the first coming at the same venue against Zimbabwe in 2016. "I really enjoyed batting out there today. I had my plans for the bowlers and executed them," said Jaiswal, who was named player of the match.
"Initially, I wanted to attack and then later on, my aim was to stay on until the end.”.
