IND vs ZIM 2022, 3rd ODI: Gill's ton trumps Raza's century in series sweep for India; fans thrilled
India defeated Zimbabwe by just 13 runs in a thrilling final ODI in Harare on Monday. Thus, the visitors have walked away with a 3-0 clean sweep. Shubman Gill's century proved to be better than Sikandar Raza's.
FollowIt turned out to be one of the rarest nail-biters between India and Zimbabwe, as the two sides locked horns in the third and final One-Day International (ODI) at the Harare Sports Club on Monday. The visitors ensured a 13-run win, thus walking away with a 3-0 clean sweep. However, the hosts did provide the best fightback in this dead rubber. While Shubman Gill was the standout performer for India with the bat, scoring 130, Zimbabwean pacer Brad Evans kept the Indians on their toes with a fifer. In contrast, Sikandar Raza worried the visitors with a heroic knock of 115.
Winning the toss, Indian skipper KL Rahul opted to defend this time to get some much-needed batting practice before the Asia Cup T20 that follows this series. The Men in Blue were slow starters and lost their opening wicket in the 14th over, with Rahul (30) falling as he looked unsettled.
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While India was down to 84/2 by the 21st, with opener Shikhar Dhawan (40) departing, Gill and Ishan Kishan (50) added 140 for the third wicket to ensure that India stayed in the innings throughout. During this period, Kishan scored his second ODI half-century before falling in the 43rd, while Gill followed it up with his maiden ODI ton.
India kept losing wickets at regular intervals, with Gill being the seventh wicket to fall in the final over, at 282. At the same time, India managed 289/8, whereas, for Zimbabwe, Evans claimed five, and off-spinner Raza was duly economical. In reply, Zimbabwe lost its opening wicket, Innocent Kaia (6), in the third over of the powerplay to pacer Deepak Chahar.
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However, Takudzwanashe Kaitano (13) and Sean Williams (45) added 75 for the second wicket before the former fell to chinaman Kuldeep Yadav in the 17th. There was a slump as Zimbabwe stared at defeat, down to 169/7 by the 36th. But, Raza and Evans (28) ensured that the hosts did not go down without a fight.
The pair added a 104-run partnership for the eighth wicket, giving the Indians a concerned look on their faces. It was in the 48th when pacer Avesh Khan trapped Evans leg-before before breaking the stand, while Raza was dismissed by Thakur in the subsequent over, having slammed his fifth ODI century, as Zimbabwe was bowled out for 276 in the final over, falling 13 runs short. In contrast, the Indians won with three balls to spare, with Avesh bagging a three-for, while leg-spinner Axar Patel was heavily economical.
Brief scores: IND 289/8 (Gill- 130, Kishan- 50; Evans- 5/54) defeated ZIM 276 in 49.3 overs (Raza- 115; Avesh- 3/66) by 13 runs.
