Chibhabha, Cremer star in T20 win over India

It seems to be the season of the underdogs! In the second T20I of the 2-match series against India, hosts Zimbabwe defeated the visitors by 10 runs with plenty to celebrate about. This is Zimbabwe’s first ever T20 win over India and also the first ever T20I victory in Harare. They managed to draw the series 1-1 to share the trophy after losing the ODI series 3-0.

Zimbabwe batsman Chamu Chibhabha played a valiant knock of 67 off 51 balls after Zimbabwe won the toss and decided to bat first. Indian bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Stuart Binny bagged two wickets each to restrict the hosts to 145. Although Chibhabha ran out of partners to keep the scoreboard ticking, he took the responsibility on his shoulders and thrashed the Indian pacers with his crunchy strokes.

Chasing 146, India lost captain Ajinkya Rahane in the first over itself and lost wickets at regular intervals which made the chase tougher for them. Stuart Binny and Robin Uthappa played well to steady the innings and ensure that the required run rate did not go too high. But none of the batsmen dropped the anchor to stay at the crease till the end.

Zimbabwe bowler Graeme Cremer bowled brilliantly with figures of 3/18 in 4 overs. His leg break bowling was too good for the Indian batsmen and gave the crowd enough to dance about. Indian captain Rahane blamed the batting for the loss and commended Zimbabwe players for a great win.

(Image courtesy: Newsnation)