(BCCI Photo)
Jaiswal, the 22-year-old southpaw, grasped his chance at the top of the order, crafting a blistering 93 runs off just 53 deliveries. His half-century arrived swiftly in 29 balls, studded with nine boundaries. Meanwhile, Shubman Gill maintained his stellar form with an unbeaten 58 from 39 balls, marking his second consecutive fifty against Zimbabwe in the T20 format, adding to his 66 in the third match on Wednesday.
Earlier, India’s part-time bowlers Shivam Dube and Abhishek Sharma played pivotal roles in the middle overs, limiting Zimbabwe to 152 for seven in their allotted 20 overs. Despite skipper Sikander Raza’s aggressive 46 off 28 balls, it was Abhishek (1/20 in 3 overs) and Dube (1/11 in 2 overs) who stemmed the flow of runs. Their dismissals of Wesley Madhevere (25 off 24 balls) and Tadiwanashe Marumani (32 off 31 balls) derailed Zimbabwe’s progress in the middle overs.
Medium-fast bowler Tushar Deshpande made a mixed debut, initially struggling with his lengths but redeeming himself with a crucial wicket of Raza towards the end, preventing Zimbabwe from posting a more daunting total.
Zimbabwe, who had their best opening stand of the series with 63 runs from Madhevere and Marumani, couldn’t capitalize after their dismissal, losing momentum and failing to capitalize on their promising start.
