IND vs ZIM 5 Major Takeaways: Abhishek's sensational debut, Sundar's heroics and other highlights from T20Is

The tour of Zimbabwe began on an unusual note for the Indian team but it ended in familiar fashion on Sunday. The Men in Blue had suffered a shock defeat in the tour opener, barely crossing the century mark after being set 116 to win, resulting in their first T20I defeat of the year.

The remainder of the series, however, followed a more familiar script; the Men in Blue would level the series with a 100-run thrashing a day after their shock 13-run loss, and would gain an unassailable 3-1 lead with a 10-wicket thrashing of the Chevrons after being set 153 to win.

India’s first assignment after their triumph in the T20 World Cup featured a second-string team led by Shubman Gill, in which Shivam Dube was the only member who featured in the playing XI in the mega event in the US and Caribbean.

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Gill and Co would’ve been forgiven if they did not dominate their opponents the way a full-strength side would have, but ended up impressing with the manner in which they bounced back from the initial setback and even fought back from tricky situations in subsequent matches.

The visitors, after all, were 40/3 in Sunday’s finale and could have been bowled out for another sub-par total, but they managed to post a 160-plus total in the end before their attack made short work of the Zimbabwean batters .

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Before we turn our attention to the tour of Sri Lanka that gets underway later this month, we look at some of the takeaways from the tour of Zimbabwe:

Abhishek begins his India journey in style

The highlight of India’s tour of Zimbabwe without a shred of doubt was Abhishek Sharma’s grand debut. The batting all-rounder had been in red-hot form in the IPL earlier this year, scoring 484 runs for Sunrisers Hyderabad striking at more than 200, and as a result, was going to be one of the most keenly-followed players in the series.

Though he was dismissed for a duck on debut and scored just 24 runs in the last three matches of the series, Abhishek fully repaid the faith that selectors and the team management had shown in him with a whirlwind 46-ball century in the second match of the series, starring in the Men in Blue’s series-leveling 100-run win.

Men in Blue get a solid top-three in place

Abhishek’s sensational debut has also given the Indian team a solid top-three for the shortest format which likely might be their combination going forward even if the seniors return to action.

Yashasvi Jaiswal would smash an unbeaten 93 off 53 balls in the fourth T20I, making a grand return to the team after being benched throughout India’s World Cup campaign, and makes the perfect opening pairing with Abhishek.

Captain Gill was the more reserved of the three and could succeed Virat Kohli, who retired from T20Is along with Rohit Sharma after the World Cup, at the No. 3 slot as an anchor. That is unless the team management intends to continue with Rishabh Pant at one-down the way he did in the US and the Caribbean.

Sundar makes strong case to fill Jadeja-sized void

Let’s also not forget the heroics of Tamil Nadu and SRH all-rounder Washington Sundar, who was adjudged the Player of the Tournament for collecting eight wickets besides also making a handy contribution with the bat.

Sundar’s contribution was especially crucial in the third T20I, in which his brilliant figures of 3/15 from four overs halted Zimbabwe’s spirited charge led by Dion Myers’ unbeaten 65 in their chase of the 183-run target set by the visitors.

Though his primary role was to choke the flow of runs in the middle overs, Sundar has also proven himself to be a handy option for the powerplay in the past. And with Ravindra Jadeja having retired from T20Is along with Rohit and Kohli, Sundar has presented himself as an ideal replacement for the role of spin-bowling all-rounder alongside Axar Patel.

Mukesh shines brightest among Indian bowlers

Mukesh Kumar, meanwhile, was India’s highlight as far as bowling in the powerplay and in the death overs was concerned, and the Delhi Capitals pacer had eight wickets to show for it — the same as Sundar, but in just three appearances compared to the off-spinner’s five.

That included a haul of 4/22 in the final game, striking twice in as many overs in the powerplay and later sealing India’s victory with a double-strike in the penultimate over of the chase.

Competition for a spot in India’s T20I pace attack is a lot tougher than one would imagine with Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh making the perfect new-ball pairing and Mohammed Siraj, an established name across formats, being the third seamer. Mukesh, however, surged ahead in the pecking order with his heroics in Zimbabwe and has ensured he remains on the selectors’ radar.

Zimbabwe’s pacers stand out

Though they lost four in a row in the series after stunning the cricketing world in the opening game, Zimbabwe can take heart from the fight that they put up against one of the leading forces in the sport.

Standing out among the Zimbabweans is their pace trio of Blessing Muzarabani, Tendai Chatara and Richard Ngrava, who did test the IPL stars from time to time. Muzarabani finished as Zimbabwe’s leading wicket-taker and used his height and pace to good advantage in a superb display in the final T20I on Sunday, signing off with figures of 2/19 from four overs.