IND vs ZIM Man of the Match 1st ODI: The Indian pacer won the match award upon his comeback to the sport after six months.
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During the first ODI of India’s tour of Zimbabwe 2022 in Harare, India have defeated Zimbabwe by 10 wickets to gain a 1-0 lead in a three-match series.
Chasing a 190-run target, all India needed to seal the chase were 30.5 overs. Opening the batting for the fifth time in international cricket, Shikhar Dhawan (81*) and Shubman Gill (82*) put together a 192-run match-winning stand.
Dhawan, who played almost 75% of the deliveries in the first powerplay, continued in his usual effortless manner throughout the innings hitting nine fours at a strike rate of 71.68.
Gill, on the other hand, scored the bulk of runs in the second half of the chase at the Harare Sports Club today. The 22-year old batter outperformed his senior partner in terms of both scoring runs and scoring them at a faster pace. Gill’s 10 fours and a six came at a strike rate of 113.88.
IND vs ZIM Man of the Match 1st ODI
India captain KL Rahul’s decision of winning the toss and electing to bowl was justified by his bowlers as a combined effort bundled out Zimbabwe for 189 in 40.3 overs.
All-rounder Axar Patel was the pick of the Indian bowlers with figures of 7.3-2-24-3. Other than Patel, pacers Deepak Chahar and Prasidh Krishna also picked three wickets each.
Playing a representative match after more than six months, Chahar made early inroads into the Zimbabwean batting lineup dismissing top-order batters namely Innocent Kaia (4), Tadiwanashe Marumani (8) and Wessly Madhevere (5) with the new ball.
In what was only his eighth ODI, Chahar won his second match award in this format for his bowling figures of 7-0-27-3. Clearly jittery in the first couple of overs, Chahar managed to find his rhythm during the remainder of a seven-over spell.
“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,” Chahar told the host broadcaster after collecting his Player of the Match trophy.
