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Eddie Chikamhi Sports Reporter
SPIN bowler Amit Mishra produced a match-winning performance as he helped India clinch the Celkon Mobile One Day International Series with a comfortable seven-wicket win over Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club yesterday. Mishra claimed four wickets as the home team slumped to a meagre total of 183 runs inside 46 overs after they were asked to bat first. The tourists then continued with the dominance when they followed up their good bowling act with a disciplined batting show, reaching 187 for the loss of three wickets. Rohit Kohli (68), who believed was a victim of poor judgement when he was controversially called out in the second ODI, bounced back from the disappointment with an unbeaten half century which proved crucial as India took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five match series.
Zimbabwe lost the first match by six wickets last Wednesday before succumbing to a 58 run defeat in the second ODI two days later.
The last two matches of the series will now move to Bulawayo and, although it is now more of a dead rubber, Zimbabwe would need to justify the amount of work they invested in the last two months in camp with at least a win against the world ODI and ICC Champions Trophy kings.
As has been the trend during the series, the team batting first has struggled to put bat and it was no better for the hosts yesterday when India won the toss and decided to bowl.
Zimbabwe’s batsman stuttered from the beginning with openers Vusi Sibanda (0) and Sikander Raza (1) back at the pavilion the first two overs of the match. The Zimbabweans desperately needed to settle with experienced players Brendan Taylor (23) and Hamilton Masakadza (38) at the middle but the Indian bowlers would not allow them with Jaydev Undakat moving in to shatter the blossoming partnership for the third wicket which yielded 65 runs.
The Indians continued to stifle any kind of progress with Mishra taking his first wicket when he got Masakadza caught behind by wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik to leave Zimbabwe on 80/4 after 19.4 overs.
Mishra then completed a remarkable feat, bowling his first over of the day, when he claimed his second wicket the next ball after trapping new batsman Malcom Waller lbw for a golden duck.
It must have been another frustrating outing for Waller, who has struggled to score in this series, following his dismissals in the last two matches for identical scores of two runs apiece.
Zimbabwe were in all sorts of trouble when they were further reduced to 89/6 when Elton Chigumbura (3) fell was adjudged lbw off Ravindra Sadeja’ spin. But Sean Williams (45) and Prosper Utseya (10) managed to hang on to see Zimbabwe past the 100-run mark before he was run out in the 35th over. The lower order then held their nerve and somehow managed to frustrate the Indian bowlers who had hoped to wrap up the innings early.
Tendai Chatara (23) and Brian Vitori (17) struck a couple of boundaries in a 34-run partnership for the ninth wicket before Mishra, who was voted man of the match, returned to clean up the tail claiming both wickets to finish the match with figures of 4-47.
As was expected, the Indian batsmen were not troubled much in their chase despite losing Rohit Sharma (14) early as they needed only 35.3 overs to wrap up the series. Zimbabwe’s newboy Mike Chinouya, who made his debut yesterday, claimed his first international wicket when Sharma edged his delivery to wicketkeeper Taylor, leaving the tourists on 27/1. Chatara then removed the visitors’ dangerman Shikar Dhawan for 35 runs, having faced 32 balls on the afternoon with 67 runs on India’s scoreboard. Ambati Rayadu (33) was the last batman to go when he returned a catch to Vitori. But with India on 131 after 30 overs and seven wickets in hand, victory was clearly in sight. Kohli led the chase with a half century and Suresh Raina’s boundary off Chatara then wrapped up the events as he finished with 30 runs from 28 balls. — AFP.
Online Reporter