InD(hon)ia beat Zimbabwe, top pool

India made no changes to their playing eleven. Zimbabwe (Maru)made eight changes to the eleven that last played the Indians – Vusi Sibanda, Timycen, Malcolm Waller, Elton Chigumbura, Tinotenda Mutombodzi, Natsai M’shangwe, Kyle Jarvis and Brian Vitori made way for Chamu Chibhabha, Solomon Mire, Craig Ervine, Sikandar Raza, Regis Chakabva, Tinashe Panyangara, Tawanda Mupariwa and Tendai Chatara.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India’s skipper, won the toss, inserting Zimbabwe. Hamilton Masakadza, who faced eight balls, scored just a couple. Twenty-one balls into the match, he was caught by Dhoni. Umesh Yadav broke the 11-run stand.

Although his innings included a boundary, Chibhabha, who faced 16 balls, wasn’t in seventh heaven. An over later, he was caught by Shikhar Dhawan. Mohammed Shami broke the two-run stand.

Mire, who faced 22 balls, scored nine. His innings included a boundary. Thirty-nine balls later, he was caught by Dhoni. Mohit Sharma broke the 20-run stand. Sean Williams faced 57 balls, scoring 50. His (Ashw)innings included three boundaries and as many sixes. A hundred and five balls later, he was caught by Ravichandran, who broke the 93-run stand.

Brendan Taylor, Zimbabwe’s skipper, faced 110 balls, scoring 138. His innings included 15 boundaries and five sixes. Eighty balls later, he was caught by Dhawan. Mohit Sharma broke the fifth-wicket stand, which was worth 109.

Ervine, who bowled 41 balls, scored 27. His innings included a boundary and a six. Eight balls later, he was caught by Mohit, who broke the six-run stand. Raza, who faced 15 balls, scored 28. His innings included a boundary and three sixes. Seventeen balls later, Shami broke the 35-run stand.

Panyangara scored six. His run-a-ball innings included a boundary. Nine balls later, he was caught by Yadav. Shami broke the eighth-wicket partnership, which was worth nine. Chakabva, who faced 13 balls, scored 10. Four balls later, he was caught by Rohit Sharma. Yadav broke the one-run stand.

Mupariwa, who faced a couple of balls, scored a run. He was unbeaten. Tendai Chatara, who faced three balls, didn’t get off the mark. Four balls later, Yadav broke the one-run stand.

India conceded nine extras. Zimbabwe were dismissed for 287 off 48.5 overs. Ravindra Jadeja, who bowled 10 wicketless overs, conceded 71. Ashwin, who bowled 10 overs, conceded 75. He picked up a wicket.

Shami, Yadav and Mohit picked up three scalps each. Shami bowled nine overs, including a couple of maidens. He conceding 48. Yadav bowled 9.5 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 43. Mohit bowled 10 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 48.

Rohit, who faced 21 balls, scored 16. His innings included a couple of boundaries. Thirty-seven balls into the chase, he was caught by Raza. Panyangara broke the 21-run stand. Dhawan, who faced 20 balls, scored four. His runs came by way of a four. Four dot balls later, he was dismissed by Panyangara.

The third-wicket pair put on 50. Ajinkya Rahane, who faced 24 balls, scored 19. His innings included three boundaries. Fifty-eight balls later, Raza and Taylor ran him out. Virat Kohli, who faced 48 balls, scored 38. His innings included four boundaries. Thirty-seven balls later, Raza broke the 21-run stand.

Suresh Raina, the player of the match, faced 104 balls, scoring 110. His innings included nine boundaries and four sixes. He was unbeaten, as was Dhoni, who faced 76 balls, scoring 85. His innings included eight boundaries and a couple of sixes.

Zimbabwe conceded 16 extras. India scored 288 for the loss of four wickets off 48.4 overs, winnings by six wickets with eight balls to spare. Masakadza bowled a couple of overs, conceding 15. He was wicketless, as were Williams and Mire, who bowled five overs apiece. While the former conceded 31, the latter conceded 29.

Mupariwa and Chatara bowled 10 wicketless overs each. While the former conceded 61, the latter, whose spell included a maiden, conceded 59. Raza, who bowled eight overs, conceded 37. He picked up a wicket. Panyangara bowled 8.4 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 53 and picked up a couple of scalps.

Taylor turned his back on international cricket after this match in favour of a stint with Nottinghamshire. This remains his last One-day International appearance to date. 

The Indians, who topped Pool B without losing any of their matches, advanced to the quarter-finals.