ZIM vs IND, 3rd ODI: 50 overs India 289 for 8 (Gill 130, Kishan 50, Evans 5-54) versus Zimbabwe

Shubman Gill’s maiden ODI hundred, which he scored at a much quicker rate compared to any of his team-mates, fueled India to 289 in the third ODI in Harare. India saw their openers fall in the first half of the innings after a calm beginning and wickets tumbled in the late overs, however Gill kept the innings intact after he left at No. 3, and escorted Ishan Kishan, who scored a fifty, in a century stand.

KL Rahul won his third toss in a row however chose to bat at this opportunity to make his batters face the “testing” conditions right off the bat. While Shikhar Dhawan persistently saw off the new ball, Rahul himself looked withdrawn and crawled to 24 off 43 before chopping on for 30 off Brad Evans.

Dhawan began the India innings in brisk fashion with three fours in his first 10 balls, yet Zimbabwe answered with tight bowling consequently. At the point when they saw that Dhawan was jumping on balls that were too short or too full, Richard Ngarava and Victor Nyauchi adhered to tight lines and good lengths which held the two India openers under control. Dhawan even got a life on 17 in the seventh over when he was dropped at point off Ngarava, however he was unable to gain by it, and struck two additional fours before giving a main edge to cover for 40.

It was all a Gill show after that

He strolled in when India were going at a little more than four an over and the Zimbabwe bowlers were being shown respect for their stifling, and he looked a class apart. He timed the ball quite well, drove with certainty at whatever point the ball was pitched up even hardly, cleared the ball into gaps, and kept the score ticking even as Kishan took as much time as necessary to ease himself in. 

Gill struck a four each over he got strike in for four overs straight beginning with the 21st, while Kishan played out a maiden from Sikandar Raza and got a life when he was on 6 off 17 balls, when Sean Williams dropped a return get in the 27th over. Kishan then, at that point, broke the shackles by trudge clearing and hurling Raza straight for two fours in the 32nd over, before Gill gathered two more against Williams three overs later, after raising a 51-ball half-century.

That over started a pattern wherein Gill and Kishan took 33 off three overs, not long after which they raised their century stand with the scoring rate moving beyond five an over. But just as Gill continued to find boundaries to race towards his century and Kishan raised his second ODI fifty, off 61 balls, Zimbabwe started to hit back.

Gill survived a nearby lbw request on 97 off Evans in the 43rd over, and a survey showed he had got a thick edge, yet Zimbabwe actually got a wicket off that ball, with Kishan run out when the defenders were all the while engaging for the lbw. Munyonga dove in from point and tossed the stumps down at the non-striker’s end after Kishan had run mostly down the pitch. Evans’ offcutter then picked up its second victim of the day when Deepak Hooda fell for 1 five balls later.

Gill was resolute. He knelt towards the changing area to commend his maiden century, off only 82 balls, off the following ball and kept on releasing his roaring drives and pulls. Then, at that point, he got a life in a momentous 46th over. He was dropped at short fine leg by Nyauchi on 110, after which Sanju Samson hit two progressive sixes prior to being excused. Samson swung Luke Jongwe over long off with two clean strikes but then holed out to deep square leg when he went for his third in succession.

ALSO READ: Gill Smashes Maiden Hundred, leads India To 289/8 

Axar Patel additionally holed out two overs later however solely after Gill had gathered two extra fours. India had scored 65 runs in eight overs since the 40th, yet Zimbabwe retaliated in the last two, predominantly on account of Evans. After a seven-run penultimate over from Ngarava, Evans had Gill gotten at long-off for 130 and Shardul Thakur chipping a tricky more slow ball to mid-off while offering just seven more and wrapping up with his maiden ODI five-for, which his father and former Zimbabwe all rounder Craig Evans applauded from the stands.