Barinder Sran and Jasprit Bumrah shared seven wickets to set up India’s thumping 10-wicket win over Zimbabwe on Monday to level the Twenty20 series at 1-1.
Sran had 4-10 and Bumrah 3-11 as India restricted Zimbabwe to 99-9 in its 20 overs at Harare Sports Club.
India reached the victory target with nearly seven overs to spare and without losing a wicket. Mandeep Singh was 52 not out and fellow opener Lokesh Rahul 47 not out, with the pair comfortably taking India to 103-0.
India’s heavy win went some way to regaining some lost pride after a surprise defeat in the first T20 over the weekend, and sets up a series decider in the final T20 on Wednesday.
India is touring Zimbabwe with a relatively young team under the guidance of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and easily swept the one-day international series 3-0 before a last-ball loss in the opening T20 on Saturday.
This time, left-arm seamer Sran put India on course for victory in the second of three games, returning his outstanding figures on his T20 debut.
He claimed Zimbabwe’s first four wickets in the first five overs, as the home team slumped to 28-4. Sran removed Hamilton Masakadza, Sikandar Raza and Tinotenda Mutombodzi all in the same over and in the space of five balls.
Fellow seamer Bumrah dismissed Zimbabwe’s top scorer, PJ Moor, for 31. Starting with Moor, India took four Zimbabwe wickets for 16 runs at the end as the Zimbabweans fell to reckless shots.
There was little trouble for Mandeep and Rahul, with Mandeep slicing a cut shot away over point for four off the last ball to make sure he finished with a half-century, his first in internationals.
