Team India produced a dominant performance on Saturday to defeat Zimbabwe by ten wickets, thus taking an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series in Harare. Chasing a 153-run target, India didn’t lose a wicket as the duo of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill produced a solid batting performance; the duo chased the target down with 28 deliveries to spare.
Jaiswal (93 off 53 balls) and captain Gill (58 off 39 balls) masterfully chased down a target, and the latter spoke about his side’s performance throughout the series, as they endured a loss in the opening match before staging a comeback. India had failed to chase down a meagre 116-run target in the first match of the series, and defended the score comprehensively over the next two matches.
“Chasing was one thing we talked about. We could not do it in the first game, so good to get it done. The job is not done, though,” Gill stated during the post-match presentation.
He also had a message for the coaching unit, which recently saw a major change with Gautam Gambhir succeeding Rahul Dravid as the new head coach. Praising his unit, Gill hoped for the players to be taken to future squads in the shortest format.
“This is a great team, great bunch of players. Hopefully, we will be able to take the team forward,” Gill said.
The Indian team – particularly in T20Is – is undergoing a transition with stalwarts like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja retiring from the format after the T20 World Cup victory last month. Gill and Jaiswal are widely seen as successors to the legendary batting duo of Rohit and Kohli, with Abhishek Sharm and Ruturaj Gaikwad also producing solid contention for the top-order spots.
In the all-rounder spot, Washington Sundar produced strong performances in the series.
Meanwhile, Jaiswal, who was adjudged the man of the match for his commanding outing with the bat, admitted that he enjoyed the decent batting turf at play on Saturday.
“I really enjoyed my batting today. I had my plans for different bowlers. The ball was coming on when it was new and as it got old, it was quite slow. I enjoyed batting with Shubman,” he said.
“I understood and changed my game. We really enjoyed together. Initially, I wanted to go after my shots. After that, I wanted to rotate and wanted to stay till the end.”
Jaiswal said that for him, the more important aspect is his process of preparation:“My diet, sleeping pattern, how I am executing my plans in practice.”
