July 14th 2024.
On a sunny Sunday afternoon at the Harare Sports Club, Vice-captain Sanju Samson showed off his batting skills once again as he led India to a competitive total of 167/6 in the fifth and final T20I against Zimbabwe. Along with Shivam Dube's quick cameo of 26 runs in just 12 balls, the duo helped India recover from a shaky start and set a challenging target for the home team.
Samson's effortless strokes and elegant bat swing were on full display as he hit a boundary and four massive sixes in his 45-ball 58. He also formed a crucial partnership of 65 runs with Riyan Parag, who contributed 34 runs from 27 balls. This partnership helped India out of trouble after losing their top three batsmen in the power-play.
Despite some good catches taken by the Zimbabwean fielders, their overall performance was marred by three dropped catches and some fumbles. Blessing Muzarabani was the most successful bowler for Zimbabwe, taking 2 wickets for just 19 runs in his 4 overs.
India got off to a blistering start thanks to Yashasvi Jaiswal's consecutive sixes off the first two balls of the innings. However, Sikandar Raza had the last laugh as he got Jaiswal out with a late in-swinging delivery that sent the leg-stump flying. Abhishek Sharma was also given a lifeline when he was dropped by Brian Bennett, but Muzarabani made up for it by dismissing him soon after.
Shubman Gill, who came in at number three, struggled to find his rhythm and was eventually caught out by Richard Ngarava while trying to top-edge a pull shot. It was then up to Samson to lead the rebuilding process for India and he did it in style, hitting three magnificent sixes and multiple boundaries to reach his half-century.
Zimbabwe got a glimmer of hope when Brandon Mavuta took the wicket of Parag, who mistimed his shot and was caught at long-off. But Samson continued to dominate until he was caught at deep mid-wicket for a well-made 58 off 45 balls by Muzarabani.
Dube provided some fireworks towards the end with four boundaries in his 26 runs off just 12 balls before getting run-out due to a miscommunication with Rinku Singh. Singh, however, made up for it by hitting a six off the last ball of the innings, taking India's total to 167/6.
In the end, India had a competitive total on the board, thanks to Samson's brilliant knock and Dube's quick cameo. Zimbabwe will have to chase down 168 runs if they want to win the match and avoid a series whitewash by the visitors.
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