Zimbabwe vs India, 2nd T20I - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

India are on the verge of completing a total clean sweep against Zimbabwe. The second and final T20I offers the hosts their only chance of redemption. They were whitewashed in the three ODIs preceding the first T20I, where they were completely outplayed again. Ajinkya Rahane would count on the hunger of the players to make a mark in the last game of the tour.

Zimbabwe would desperately seek to restore some pride, but their batting was disappointing in the first game, as admitted by skipper Elton Chigumbura. That India had five debutants in the previous T20I did little to breach the difference in class between the two sides. The hosts will need to make most of all the chances that come their way if they are to square the series.

"'It's a lovely T20 strip, there are a few cracks on it, but there's no moisture on the surface. The cracks might open up more as the match wears on, the team winning the toss would like to bat first," reckon Venkatesh Prasad and Dirk Viljoen.

Zimbabwe won the toss and decided to bat first. Sikandar Raza was leading Zimbabwe as Elton Chigumbura was ruled out due to an injury. Neville Madziva was also out injured while Sean Williams and Malcolm Waller were included in the Zimbabwe eleven. India, meanwhile, decided to rest Harbhajan Singh while Sanju Samson got his maiden cap.

Captain Comments:

Rahane: "The pitch looks better, so we will have to bowl well, restrict them and chase down the target. We have done well throughout the series. Harbhajan has been rested, Sanju Samson will make his debut for India."

Raza: "We will bat first. Second game on this track, it might get slow. Elton (Chigumbura) has pulled up injured, hence the change of captaincy, luckily Sean Williams is fit. Malcolm Waller comes in place of Nevill Madziva, who also has an injury. Looks like a good batting surface."

Teams:

Zimbabwe (Playing XI): Hamilton Masakadza, Chamu Chibhabha, Charles Coventry(w), Sikandar Raza(c), Sean Williams, Craig Ervine, Malcolm Waller, Graeme Cremer, Prosper Utseya, Chris Mpofu, Taurai Muzarabani

India (Playing XI): Ajinkya Rahane(c), Murali Vijay, Robin Uthappa(w), Manish Pandey, Sanju Samson, Kedar Jadhav, Stuart Binny, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Sandeep Sharma

Hamilton Masakadza scored seven runs in the opening over off Bhuvneshwar Kumar with the help of two couples and a three. Chamu Chibhabha got off the mark with a single off Sandeep Sharma in the second over. Vijay saved three runs for his team when a hard pull from Masakadza hit him on the sheen, although it would go down as a chance. Chibhabha scored the first boundary in the second over when he flicked one wide of mid-on to take Zimbabwe to 16/0 after two overs.

Williams, who was playing second fiddle to Chibhabha, scored his first boundary when he used Sandeep's pace to help one over square-leg for a four in the 11th over. However, he had to depart in the following over, out caught and bowled to give Axar Patel his first wicket. Axar gave away only four runs in the over as Zimbabwe moved to 89/3 after 12 overs.

Masakadza scored his first boundary when he pulled a Bhuvneshwar delivery over mid-wicket in the third over. However, the bowler bowled a tight over, giving away only a single apart from the four. Sandeep overstepped in the fourth over and Masakadza dispatched the free-hit over the deep mid-wicket fence for the first maximum of the innings. However, the bowler had the last laugh, picking up his first international wicket when Masakadza, looking to run one down to third man, nicked the ball to the keeper. It was an expensive over though by Sandeep as he Sikandar Raza got off the mark with a three and Chibhabha followed it up with a boundary. Sandeep conceded 14 as Zimbabwe moved to 35/1 after four overs.

Raza scored his first boundary by clearing the fielder at mid-wicket in the fifth over, which was bowled by Stuart Binny. Chibhabha also hit a four in the same over, finding the long-off boundary. In the following over, Raza got a top-edge while attempting to cut a Mohit Sharma delivery and gave a catch to Samson at third-man to depart on eight. Zimbabwe were 49/2 after six overs.

Vijay bowled a tight over, conceding only three runs in the ninth over while Chibhabha managed a boundary off Axar Patel in the 10th over, which yielded nine runs. Zimbabwe moved to 76/2 after 10 overs.

Murali Vijay bowled the seventh over and all Sean Williams and Chibhabha managed were singles off all the deliveries. Zimbabwe got four byes off the first ball of the eighth over, which was bowled by Axar Patel. Williams missed a reverse-sweep and Uthappa failed to get to the ball. Williams attempted another reserve-sweep in the same over and there was a loud caught behind appeal as the ball made contact with some part of Williams' gear and lobbed off to the keeper. However, the umpire ruled in favour of the batsman. Zimbabwe were 63/2 after eight overs.

Chibhabha took the attack to Mohit in the 13th over, scoring a couple of boundaries off the seamer to enter the 40s. In the following over, Zimbabwe crossed the 100-run mark while Chibhabha moved to 49 with a boundary off Axar.

With a single off Sandeep in the 15th over, Chibhabha registered a fine half-century and also managed a boundary in the same over, slicing one behind point. However, Zimbabwe lost another wicket in the following over when Binny trapped Coventry in front. Zimbabwe were 116/4 after 16 overs.

Bhuvneshwar bowled a tight over, conceding only five runs in the 17th over. Chibhabha got a much-needed boundary when he hit a slower delivery from Mohit to the deep mid-wicket fence in the 18th over. Craig Ervine also got into the act, lofting one over mid-off for four runs. It was a good over for Zimbabwe as it yielded 11 runs, helping the hosts to 132/4 after 18.

Chibhabha's fine outing came to an end when he was bowled off the first delivery of the 19th over by Bhuvneshwar, who picked up his first wicket of the match. Chibhabha departed after a well-made 67 off 51 deliveries, which included nine fours. Zimbabwe got some bonus runs when Bhuvneshwar bowled a couple of wides, the second resulting in four extra runs as Uthappa did not hold on to the ball. The bowler came back well by castling Ervine with a yorker. Mohit mixed things well in the final over, conceding only four runs while he also dismissed Prosper Utseya. Zimbabwe finished with a total of 145/7.

Ajinkya Rahane got down on his knee and helped a Utseya delivery delivery past short fine-leg to get off the mark with a boundary. However, he was run out off the next delivery at the striker's end after Vijay turned down a quick single. In the same over, Uthappa got off the mark by reverse-sweeping Utseya for a single. It was a tight opening over as only five runs came off it while Uthappa scored back-to-back boundaries off Taurai Muzarabani in the following over after playing four dot deliveries. India moved to 13/1 after two overs.

Vijay got off the mark by scoring three off Utseya in the third over, while Uthappa scored his third boundary in the same over by flicking one over mid-wicket. Uthappa then took the attack to Chris Mpofu, scoring three boundaries in the fourth over to take India to 35/1.

Vijay was happy to play second fiddle to Uthappa, who continued finding the ropes at regular intervals. The Karnataka batsman added to his fours tally by scoring back-to-back boundaries off Chibhabha in the fifth over. Vijay then hit the first six of the innings by dispatching a Williams delivery over the deep mid-wicket fence in the sixth over to power India past fifty. Uthappa moved to 40 with a four in the same over to take India to 57/1 after six overs.

Cremer bowled a short delivery in the seventh over, and Vijay, who was looking for the pull, missed the ball completely and was bowled for 13. Cremer picked up another wicket in the same over, getting Manish Pandey out leg-before four a duck. However, the batsman was unlucky as replays suggested that the ball was missing the leg-stump. India suffered another big setback in the following over when Williams held on to a sharp catch off his own bowling to send back Uthappa for a 25-ball 42. India were 63/4 after eight overs.

India were five down at the end of the ninth over as Kedar Jadhav was run out for five. Stuart Binny came down the track and nudged the ball in front of square. He called for a couple and there was a comfortable two, but Jadhav was casual at the non-striker's end and a direct hit from Muzarabani found him short of the crease. Cremer, who bowled the ninth over, gave away five runs while Williams conceded only two off the next to leave India at 71/5 after 10 overs.

Seven runs came off Cremer's third over while Binny scored a couple of much-needed boundaries off Williams in the 12th over. Eleven runs came off Williams' over and the bowler finished with figures of 4-0-31-1. India were 89/5 after 12 overs, needing 57 more off 48 deliveries.

Utseya kept it tight in the 13th over, conceding only three runs. However, nine runs came off the next over, which was bowled by Muzarabani, including a boundary for debutant Sanju Samson as India moved to 101/5 after 14.

Raza, who bowled the 15th over, was economical as he conceded only four runs. The pressure created by him resulted in a wicket in the following over as Binny, looking to go inside-out against Cremer, was cramped for room and ended up hitting the ball to long-off where Chibhabha took a fine diving catch. The onfield umpires sought the help of the third umpire to see if the catch was taken cleanly before sending Binny back on 24. ONly four runs came off the over and Cremer finished with excellent figures of 4-0-18-3. India were 109/6, needing 37 more off 24 balls.

Raza bowled another tight over, conceding only five runs in the 17th over while Axar Patel got a reprieve as he was put down by Cremer at extra-cover. Axar was struggling to find the boundaries and Samson departed in his attempt to clear the ropes, finding Waller at long-on, to Mpofu a wicket in the 18th over. Axar finally managed a four when he split backward point and third-man to perfection to bring the equation down to 25 off 12.

A full toss from Muzarabani got him a wicket in the 19th over when Axar hit the ball straight to Williams at deep mid-wicket to depart on 13. Six runs came off the over, leaving India needing 19 off the final over with Bhuvneshwar at the crease. Three runs came off the first ball of the final over while the ninth-wicket pair sneaked in a bye off the next. However, Bhuvneshwar was run out at the non-striker's end off the third delivery, leaving India needing 15 off the last three deliveries. The stand-in skipper came up with an acrobatic effort, but put down a catch. Mohit and Sandeep managed only a single apiece off the last two deliveries and Zimbabwe ended up winning the game by 10 runs to square the series.