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Team India emerged victorious in the third T20I against Zimbabwe, securing a 23-run win and a crucial 2-1 lead in the five-match series. The match, played at the Harare Sports Club on Wednesday, saw a well-rounded performance from the visitors. Off-spinner Washington Sundar was the hero with the ball, showcasing exceptional control and bowling smarts. His frugal spell of 3 wickets for just 15 runs in 4 overs proved decisive in restricting Zimbabwe's chase. Sundar's dismissals of key batsmen like Sikandar Raza, Jonathan Campbell, and Clive Madande effectively stifled the home team's momentum.
Earlier, India set a challenging target of 182 runs on the board. Captain Shubman Gill led the charge with a well-paced 49-ball 66, while Ruturaj Gaikwad provided a quickfire knock of 49 runs from just 28 deliveries. However, sloppy fielding from Zimbabwe throughout India's innings certainly aided in reaching such a strong total.
Avesh Khan provided valuable support to Sundar with his 2 wickets for 39 runs, while Khaleel Ahmed kept things tight with an economical 1-15 spell. Zimbabwe fought valiantly, particularly with a 77-run partnership between Dion Myers and Clive Madande, but ultimately fell short of the target. Myers' maiden T20I half-century (50 runs) wasn't enough to prevent a series deficit for the hosts.
With this win, India has firmly taken control of the series after dropping the opening encounter. They will be looking to capitalize on this momentum in the remaining matches.
Washington Sundar was adjudged the Player of the Match for his stunning spell of 3/15 in which he picked key wickets. However, there came a point where Washington felt the pressure when Dion Myers and Clive Madande started brewing partnership between them. Zimbabwe were reeling on 39/5 with half of their side in the hut. Then came Madande who stitched a 77-run partnership with Myers to launch Zimbabwe's fightback. Their partnership took Zimbabwe from a precarious position to 116. But Washington then hunted down Madande in the 17th over to derail Zimbabwe's chase yet again. While Madande scored a fighting 37 off 26, Myers remained Zimbabwe's top scorer with an impressive 65 off 49.
After the match, Sundar admitted that Myers and Madande's partnership did put a lot of pressure on Team India.
“Feels amazing and every time I play for the country, it feels amazing. It was definitely a better wicket, in the first two games there was more for the bowlers compared to this game, our batters batted well. (On the partnership between Myers & Madande) It did put a lot of pressure on us and we wanted to execute our plans the best we can to restrict them. Hopefully, we get to see a lot of places in Zimbabwe and explore more, hopefully we can seal the series on Saturday,” Washington said at the post-match presentation.
India will look to seal the series when they next face Zimbabwe in the fourth T20I on July 13.
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