Pacer Deepak Chahar made an impressive comeback to international cricket with a sharp spell and the openers kept their consistency as India outclassed Zimbabwe by 10 wickets in the opening One Day International, here on Thursday. Chahar donned the blue jersey for the first time in six months after a long hiatus from injury and immediately hit the belts with figures of 3/27, which was key in India which limited Zimbabwe to a sub-par 189 in just 40 ,3 overs. With very little pressure on the scoreboard, it was a walk in the park for the Indians as opening in-form pair Shikhar Dhawan (81 out) and Shubman Gill (82 out) beat the goal in just 30.5 overs.
With skipper KL Rahul stepping away from his spot at the top of the order to allow the in-form pair to maintain their momentum, Dhawan and Gill scored their third half-century in the last four games. Not to mention that from the beginning of the West Indies series, it was also their third century stand. Their lowest opening partnership had yielded 48 runs in the second ODI in the Caribbean.
On a lane that had something for the bowlers, the Indian openers started off calmly, but with very little on the board, it didn’t take them much time to accelerate.
Dhawan played his signature square cuts from sailors and loft shots from the slow bowlers during his 113 ball knock, while Gill played to himself for the first 30 deliveries before beginning to risk his arms and outperform his senior partner in terms of stroke rate, facing only 72 balls.
He played some notable strokes on either side of the wicket, including a huge six over a deep mid-wicket on Wessly Madhevere.
Between them, they reached a total of 19 borders.
Chahar ensures victory on return
It didn’t take long for Chahar to find his rhythm on a Harare Sports Club course that offered a steep bounce. The balmy morning conditions contributed to the quality of swing bowling.
He was well supported by Mohammed Siraj (1/36) who worked up a solid pace while bowling the ideal ‘Test match length’.
Prasidh Krishna (3/50) and Axar Patel (3/24) also got their fair share of the middle and lower order casualties, while Kuldeep Yadav (0/36) was restrictive despite going without a wicket.
It was the record ninth wicket score of 70 runs between Brad Evans (33) and Richard Ngarava (32) that brought Zimbabwe close to the 200-run mark. None of the Zimbabwean batters looked at ease during those opening overs, as Chahar got a lot of throws to shoot back late, while some got back up after the pitching.
Opener Innocent Kaia (4 of 20 balls) saw a ball climb up from behind and Sanju Samson caught it on the second try.
His left-handed partner Tadiwanashe Marumani (8 of 22 balls) drove a long throw that waved off late and Samson had an easy catch.
Chahar’s best throw was the one that gave Wessly Medhevere (5), who appeared to float on blocks, but waved off late to yield the righthander, who was found right out front.
After Siraj had Sean Williams caught by Shikhar Dhawan on the first slip, there was not much resistance in the Zimbabwean at bat, although skipper Regis Chakabva (35 from 51 balls) tried to put up a short fight before Axar knocked him off.
Just at the start of his spell, Chahar struggled a bit with his run-up, but once he got his first wicket, it looked like he could take wicket on every pitch he threw.
The banana inswing was back and more importantly, he got the ball moving late, creating a lot of doubt among the batters.
promoted
While Chahar has been kept on standby for the Asian Cup with Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the top 15, the tables could turn once the Indian team makes it to base in Australia. This is because there will be at least one less spinner in the final squad as sides don’t need four spinners for pitches Down Under.
(This story was not edited by DailyExpertNews staff and was generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)
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