Harare, Shubman Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad produced high-quality knocks before the bowlers did their part as India beat Zimbabwe by 23 runs in the third T20 here on Wednesday.
Gill (66 off 49), Yashasvi Jaiswal (36 off 27) and Gaikwad (49 off 28) propelled India to 182 for four against Zimbabwe after the visitors opted to bat on a new pitch.
Zimbabwe were never really in the run chase despite an entertaining effort from number four Dion Myers (65 not off 49), which ended at 159 for six in their stipulated 20 overs.
Washington Sundar, who is likely to play a bigger role in India's T20 setup after Ravindra Jadeja's retirement, struck three times while Avesh Khan took a couple of wickets.
The fourth T20 of the five-match series will be played here on Saturday, July 13. After a loss in the series opener, India has restored normal service with back-to-back wins.
After Avesh Khan bounced opener Wessly Madhevere in the second over, wickets continued to fall for the home team. However, Zimbabwe did well to steady the ship after losing their first five wickets in 39 runs. The 77-run, 57-ball stand between Myers and Clive Madande (37 off 26) gave life to the game.
Earlier, Gill-led India made some interesting selections. They duly brought in World Cup winners Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (12 not out for 7) and Shivam Dube in the playing eleven, leaving out players like Riyan Parag in the middle order.
Sanju came to bat at number five with four specialist openers Jaiswal, Gill, Abhishek Sharma (10 off 9) and Gaikwad occupying the top four positions respectively.
Jaiswal, who did not play a match in India's triumphant T20 World Cup campaign, was happy to return to the middle and fired from the off.
The left-hander collected a pair of fours and a six at deep midwicket in the opening bowled by Brian Bennett to set the tone.
Gill started with a superb drive from left-arm pacer Richard Ngarava before pulling him for a six over fine leg.
Zimbabwe were poor in the field, to say the least, conceding extra runs and regulation catches throughout the innings. Pacer Blessing Muzarabani (2/25) once again got the extra bounce from length and was the pick of the bowlers.
After racing to 49 without loss in four overs, India could not maintain that pace reaching 55 in the powerplay with both openers in the middle.
Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza, who again impressed with the ball, got his team ahead when Jaiswal's reverse sweep went straight into the hands of the defender at the back point. Last game's centurion Abhishek did not last long and was holed out in the deep off Raza.
Gaikwad, finding himself in an unusual batting position, was able to take advantage of the spinners in the middle and finished with four boundaries and three sixes.
Gill (66 off 49), Yashasvi Jaiswal (36 off 27) and Gaikwad (49 off 28) propelled India to 182 for four against Zimbabwe after the visitors opted to bat on a new pitch.
Zimbabwe were never really in the run chase despite an entertaining effort from number four Dion Myers (65 not off 49), which ended at 159 for six in their stipulated 20 overs.
Washington Sundar, who is likely to play a bigger role in India's T20 setup after Ravindra Jadeja's retirement, struck three times while Avesh Khan took a couple of wickets.
The fourth T20 of the five-match series will be played here on Saturday, July 13. After a loss in the series opener, India has restored normal service with back-to-back wins.
After Avesh Khan bounced opener Wessly Madhevere in the second over, wickets continued to fall for the home team. However, Zimbabwe did well to steady the ship after losing their first five wickets in 39 runs. The 77-run, 57-ball stand between Myers and Clive Madande (37 off 26) gave life to the game.
Earlier, Gill-led India made some interesting selections. They duly brought in World Cup winners Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (12 not out for 7) and Shivam Dube in the playing eleven, leaving out players like Riyan Parag in the middle order.
Sanju came to bat at number five with four specialist openers Jaiswal, Gill, Abhishek Sharma (10 off 9) and Gaikwad occupying the top four positions respectively.
Jaiswal, who did not play a match in India's triumphant T20 World Cup campaign, was happy to return to the middle and fired from the off.
The left-hander collected a pair of fours and a six at deep midwicket in the opening bowled by Brian Bennett to set the tone.
Gill started with a superb drive from left-arm pacer Richard Ngarava before pulling him for a six over fine leg.
Zimbabwe were poor in the field, to say the least, conceding extra runs and regulation catches throughout the innings. Pacer Blessing Muzarabani (2/25) once again got the extra bounce from length and was the pick of the bowlers.
After racing to 49 without loss in four overs, India could not maintain that pace reaching 55 in the powerplay with both openers in the middle.
Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza, who again impressed with the ball, got his team ahead when Jaiswal's reverse sweep went straight into the hands of the defender at the back point. Last game's centurion Abhishek did not last long and was holed out in the deep off Raza.
Gaikwad, finding himself in an unusual batting position, was able to take advantage of the spinners in the middle and finished with four boundaries and three sixes.
