Sanju Samson’s well-crafted fifty and Mukesh Kumar’s disciplined spell helped India wind up their Zimbabwe tour with a comprehensive 42-run victory in the fifth and final T20I in Harare on Sunday. (Scorecard | As It Happened)
With this win, India clinched the series 4-1.
Samson’s (58, 45b) was central to India’s healthy 167 for six along with Shivam Dube’s flashy 26 (12b).
Then the India bowlers led by Mukesh (4/22), Shivam Dube (2/25) and Washington Sundar (1/7) did the💯ir job, bund🐈ling out Zimbabwe for 125 in 18.3 overs.
After the early dismissal of Wessly Madhevere, who dragged the third ball of the first over by pacer Mukesh onto his stumps, and Brian Bennett, the pair of Tadiwanashe Marumani (27) and Dion Myers (34) added 44 runs for the third 🏅wicket to keep the hosts in the hunt.
Marumani’s switch-hit four off leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, who went for a few runs in this match, was quite stunning in its exe𝔍cution.
But such shots were few and far be♔tween from the Zimbabwe batters.
Marumani went for a sweep shot against Washington but missღed the line altogether as the ball crashed onto his upper torso to get adjudged as leg-before.
Dube tailed a shuffling Myers with a quicker delivery onto his body, and the Zimbabwe batter merely chipped the ball to Abhishek Sharma at short third man.
The final nail in their hope was the run out of skipper Sikandar Raza (8), who ca🐎me in a 🐓cartwheel of four wickets for nine runs.
Mukesh, who bagged his career-best T20 figure, fittingly ended Zimbabwe's i🅰nnings going through the gate of Richard Ngarava.
Ear🍬lier, Samson (1x4, 4x6) and Riyan Parag (22, 24b) added 65 runs for the fourth wicket as India recovered from a middling Power Play in which they scored 44 for th⭕ree.
Yashasvi Jaiswal (12), who made an unbeaten 93 in the fourth T20I, started the proceedings with two sixes in the first two balls⛦ of the innings bowled by Raza.
But in thဣe 𓆉fourth ball of the same over, Jaiswal played the wrong line to deliver on the middle and leg stump to get bowled.
Abhishek, who was dropped on 10 by Bennett off 🎀Blessing Muzarabani, did not last long, edging the pacer two balls later ෴to Clive Madande behind the wicket.
Skipper Shubman Gill, who received a repri▨eve on 11, was never in his fluent self and smashed left-arm seamer N🌺garava straight into the hands of Raza in the deep.
At 44 for three, India needed a ♍partnersh✤ip to steady the innings. Samson and Parag provided just that.
Their alliance was all about prudence rather than theatrics, choosing th♚e correct delivery to punish.
It was the right approach too considering the pitch was not precisely a belter as it was in the previous ⛄two matches, offering a hint o📖f turn.
However, Samson s💧howed his aggressive side when the opportunity presented itself.
He biffed leg-spinner Brandon Mavuto for two sixes in a row and t🍬he second shot was a little marvel.
Mavuto angled the ball into Samson’s leg stump, but the right-hander gave himself enough space to carve that over extra c💫over for a maximum.
Samson brought up his fifty in 39 balls, his second in T20Is, but Parag departed as India were looking for some late accel🌳eration.
The right-hander perished to Mavuto while looking to clear the൩ fence, and Samson too could not carry on till the end of the innings.
He 💎took on Muzarabani, the most impressive among home-side bowlers, but ended up giving a catch to tumb♒ling Marumani.
ඣHowever, the tourists found some late steam throuꦫgh Dube’s fireworks.
