The Indian national cricket team led by Shubman Gill went head to head with the Zimbabwe national cricket team led by Sikandar Raza in the fifth T20I of India’s tour of Zimbabwe 2024 at the Harare Sports Club on Sunday, July 14.
The Shubman Gill-led side came into the match with little at stake as they had already sealed the series after bouncing back strongly from the unexpected defeat in the opening clash of the tour.
Everyone was shocked when the star-studded Indian team lost to Zimbabwe in the first match of the series by 13 runs while chasing a meager total of 116. This led to Gill and his team facing severe criticism and trolling, but they made sure to silence the critics with their performances in the subsequent matches.
The Men in Blue registered an epic win in the second T20I by 100 runs as the batsmen showed great class, with Abhishek Sharma hitting big while Ruturaj Gaikwad (77) and Rinku Singh (48) hit hard.
Shubman Gill’s side followed up the 100-run win with a fine 23-run victory in the next match where Shubman Gill led from the front and was given strong support by Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad as India posted a good total of 182 for 4. The bowlers stepped up their performances and restricted the Chevrons to 159/6 to guide their team to a 23-run victory.
In the next match, India opted to bowl first as they wanted to test themselves while chasing the target. The bowlers made things easy for India by allowing Zimbabwe to score just 152/7 on the board. It looked like India could win the match, but not easily, considering the home team’s bowling unit. However, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill made it look like a walk in the park and India won by 10 wickets with 28 balls remaining.
Excellent series: Shubman Gill on the heels of fifth T20I win
In the fifth T20I, India scored 167 runs at the loss of 6 wickets, and Sanju Samson was the leading run-scorer as he scored 58 runs. With the ball, Mukesh Kumar shined with his haul of 4 wickets, and Zimbabwe were bowled out for 125 as the Men In Blue won by 42 runs.
Speaking after the fifth T20I, Shubman Gill said they showed hunger after losing the first match. He also praised his players for quickly adapting to the conditions and helping the team win four matches on the trot.
Shubman Gill further stated that he is looking forward to playing for India in the upcoming Sri Lanka series. The Indian national cricket team captain explained:
“A great series. It was phenomenal to see the hunger we showed after the first defeat. A lot of players had long flights, they weren’t used to the conditions. The way they adapted was remarkable. I’ve been there (Sri Lanka) once for the Asia Cup and I’m looking forward to going there and playing.”
