India back to winning ways

India recovered from an embarrassing exit from the triangular series as they crushed Zimbabwe by eight wickets in the first of two Twenty20 matches at the Harare Sports Club. An all-round effort restricted the hosts to a meagre 111 for nine in 20 overs before India completed the job with five overs and six wickets to spare.

Only three Zimbabwe batsmen made it to double figures as they collapsed from 73 for three to 107 for nine in nine overs. Chamu Chibhabha, the highest scorer for the hosts, scored 40 off 30 deliveries but new ball bowlers Vinay Kumar, Ashok Dinda and Pragyan Ojha shared seven wickets among them to ensure that no other batsman made an impression.

Chasing the paltry total, India got off to a troubled start - collapsing to 48 for four - but Virat Kohli and Yusuf Pathan added 64 for the fifth wicket in just 44 balls to take their team past the finish line. Zimbabwean captain Elton Chigumbura admitted his team was outplayed but lauded his spinners for putting up a fight. “The middle order didn’t perform. But it was pleasing to see the way the spinners performed,” said Chigumbura.

Pathan, named man of the match, said the pitch was difficult to bat on. “I just went in with the plan to go for my shots. The wicket was a bit slow, not the best to bat on,” he said.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 13^th, 2010.