Chevrons fail to turn up

TO put it mildly, Zimbabwe just didn’t turn up.

The surface was a belter.

Better application at the start and rotation of strike would have helped matters, but the hosts kept crumbling and quite rapidly at that.

They now have another chance to square the series tomorrow.

Can they? Will they after the 10-wicket defeat yesterday?

What The Said

KL Rahul | Indian skipper: “We do play a lot of cricket and injuries are going to be part of it. Being away from the game is really hard. It is a tough time and we worked together (me, Kuldeep and Deepak) in Bangalore. There was a bit of swing and seam movement as well, but it was good to see the bowlers stay disciplined and pick up those wickets. For a few of us, it is great to be back in the Indian dressing room. As a team we have been in good form, good to see that all of us are getting enough game time. Feels good to be out there.”

Deepak Chahar | Player of the Match – removed Zimbabwe’s top 3 inside 11 overs: “The landing was a little hard and when you play an international game after six and half months, obviously you will be a little nervous. Before coming here, I played at least 4-5 practice games and the body and mind wasn’t working together in the first few overs, but it got better after that. I’m fine and the body is fine as well.”

Regis Chakabva | Zimbabwean skipper: “The Indian bowlers bowled really well, put the pressure on us and we lost our way after the first 4-5 overs. It was good to see Richi (Ngarava) and Brad give us that partnership at the end. We needed to have one or two big partnerships, but it didn’t happen today. Our bowlers tried to come hard at them, but obviously they batted really well and took the game away from us. We will have a chat today, keep our heads up and bounce back strong on Saturday.”

Most consecutive wins for India vs an opponent

13* vs Zim (2013-22)

12 vs Ban (1988-04)

11 vs NZ (1986-88)

10 vs Zim (2002-05)

Highest opening stands for India in 10-wicket wins (ODI)

197/0 vs Zim Sharjah 1998

192/0 vs Zim Harare 2022 *

126/0 vs Zim Harare 2016

123/0 vs East Africa Leeds 1975

116/0 vs WI Port of Spain 1997

114/0 vs Eng The Oval 2022