Abhishek Sharma (Image credit: BCCI) CHENNAI: It was a day where everything went according to plan for India, starting with South Africa’s easy win against the West Indies in Ahmedabad earlier in the day. This result smoothed out the rough edges of this Super 8 Group 1 and meant that India would have to win the remaining matches to book their place in the semi-finals safely. And against a team like Zimbabwe that is completely unprepared for such a big stage, Suryakumar’s boys did what was needed. With thousands of mobile phones flashing in the stands of the MA Chidambaram Stadium, India got their campaign back on track, winning by 72 runs and setting up a direct ‘quarter-final’ against the West Indies at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!Thanks to the pleasant evening breeze blowing across Chepauk, the fans never stopped partying. They had their reasons. The much-loved Abhishek Sharma returned to some form with a 30-ball 55, CSK’s new signing Sanju Samson hit a quickfire 24 and the entire middle order got some good hits from the batting beauty. However, Zimbabwe made things easy for India. From bowlers’ selection to winning the toss to bowling pedestrians in the Powerplay to dropping catches at crucial points, the African minnows have been exactly the team India would have wanted at this stage of the tournament.
India keep T20 World Cup dream alive, now to Kolkata
Towards the back end, they kept dishing out lollipops in pursuit of a yorker and were thrashed for 17 sixes in the process. The total of 256/4 was comfortably India’s highest in a T20 World Cup, beating their previous best of 218. It was well beyond Zimbabwe’s reach and they didn’t seem too interested in the chase. Zimbabwe opted instead to bat for 20 overs and gain experience on the big stage against top bowlers. Right-handed opener Brian Bennett (97 off 54 balls) played an innings of great quality which may stand him in good stead at some other time against some other opposition. But for now, it’s the end of the road for Zimbabwe.Regardless of the quality of the opposition, India had to run away and all eyes were on the recycled opening partnership of Sanju and Abhishek.The left-hander, who has lost his form woefully so far, was not tested with off-spin, his nemesis in the tournament so far, in the Powerplay and cashed in on it. However, the blitz was started by Samson who blasted a six off the back foot over left-arm middle pacer Richard Ngarava. Sanju was tested with short balls – hitting a few too – but fell into a similar delivery. However, with a score of 48 from 3.4 overs, he had already done his job.It was then Abhishek’s turn to show that the hard work he put in at the nets on Tuesday was paying off. The southpaw kept his head level and didn’t try to pre-think his shots. He also didn’t show his stumps to the walkers and didn’t look to rush down the track. Instead, he kept his shape, stayed in his crease and tried to play the ball straight. Of course, there was nothing really challenging about the Zimbabwean attack, but the Punjab cricketer kept his side of the bargain.The crowd erupted in joy, chants of “Abhishek, Abhi-shek” getting louder and louder as his beautifully sharp shots kept the score at a gallop. Although India were bowled out for 80 in the Powerplay, Abhishek’s half-century off 28 balls was his second slowest in T20Is. Instead of constantly searching across borders and power, Abhishek didn’t mind occasional borders (4×4, 4×6). He fielded with great agility as India took a breather. For reasons better known to Zimbabwe, captain Sikandar Raza bowled just six overs. He himself did not complete his quota despite dismissing Ishan Kishan while the other two shared three. They conceded 56 – just over nine – while the pacers hovered between 10 and 20.Hardik (50* off 23 balls) and Tilak (44* off 16 balls), batting at No. 6, found themselves back in the groove. But things may get more difficult in the future.
