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Team India capped off a remarkable comeback in the five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe, clinching the series 4-1 with a convincing 42-run victory in the final match on Sunday, July 14.
India sign off Zimbabwe series in style
After losing the series opener, India displayed impressive resilience, winning four consecutive matches to secure the series win. Sanju Samson led the charge with a brilliant half-century (58 runs), ably supported by a quick-fire cameo from Shivam Dube (26 runs off 12 balls). This helped India post a competitive total of 167 for 6 wickets in their allotted 20 overs. Zimbabwe's chase started brightly with Tadiwanashe Marumani and Dion Myers anchoring the innings with a promising partnership in the middle overs. However, Shivam Dube struck a crucial double blow to break the momentum. Debutant Mukesh Kumar then emerged as the hero for India, claiming career-best T20I figures of 4 wickets for 22 runs in just 3.3 overs. This stellar bowling display effectively dismantled the Zimbabwean batting order, restricting them to 125 runs all out in 18.3 overs.
Earlier, Zimbabwe had won the toss in the final T20I, seeking a consolation victory to end the series with a 3-2 scoreline. They opted to bowl first, with Brandon Mavuta replacing Tendai Chatara in their playing XI. Interestingly, losing the toss worked in India's favor as captain Shubman Gill revealed their preference to bat first. India also made a couple of changes to their winning combination, bringing back Mukesh Kumar and Riyan Parag in place of Khaleel Ahmed and Rinku Singh respectively.
Riyan Parag on Shubman Gill's captaincy
Meanwhile, right after the match, Riyan Parag revealed how does it feel to play under Shubman Gill's captaincy. While lauding Gill, Parag said that the star batter has been like a captain even when he was not captain.
“Feels great. After the 1st game everyone woke up and we were clinical after that. Really proud of the boys and enjoyed it to the max. [on Abhishek Sharma] We opened our jerseys together. I went to his room, he opened it first and then I did. We played the 2018 World Cup together and next 6 years we did not play, now we are playing. Doing it with him was pretty special. I had a chat with Sanju bhayya and spoke that now we had to build a RR [Rajasthan Royals] partnership. Once we had wickets in the end, we could go like hell and it was a tricky wicket, glad we could do well,” Parag said at the post-match presentation.
“It has been fun playing under Shubman Gill. We have played age group together, under-16. He has been like a captain even when he was not captain. In the field he has been exceptional,” Parag concluded.
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