India vs Zimbabwe 2016, 2nd T20I at Harare, as it happened: Mandeep, Rahul stroll to 10-wicket win!

Barinder Sran is the ‘Man of the Match’ for his figures of 4/10 on T20I debut!

India have levelled the series 1-1, and they couldn’t have pulled it off in a more dominating fashion by restricting the hosts to a mere 99 at the end of their quota of overs, before chasing the target down with 10 wickets and a plenty of overs to spare! 

After witnessing the hosts pull off a miraculous two-run win in the previous game, we are back to the one-sided contests that we got to witness throughout the ODI leg of the tour. And MS Dhoni and co. seem to have come back harder than ever to teach the Zimbabweans a lesson! The series is now wide open between the two sides, and Dhoni cannot afford to take things lightly in the final game of the tour.

After 14 overs,India 103/0 ( Lokesh Rahul 47 , Mandeep Singh 52)

Before long, Mandeep Singh manages to catch up with KL Rahul in terms of runs scored, taking a single off the last ball of the 13th over with India needing just one run to win. Hammers a boundary off the first ball of the next over to not only bring up the 10-wicket victory for India, but also bring up his maiden T20I fifty in 40 balls!

After 12 overs,India 93/0 ( Lokesh Rahul 46 , Mandeep Singh 43)

Chibhabha concedes a front-foot no-ball in the 10th over, and gets hammered for a six over deep cover by Rahul, who gets his second big hit in the next over by dancing down the track, and smashing the Cremer delivery onto the roof! Rahul has already raced to 46, and looks to bring up his maiden T20I fifty in only his second appearance.

India need seven to win from eight overs.

Seems to be the likely case, the way things are shaping up right now. 

India back to ODI winning ways.#ZIMvIND

— Gaurav Sethi (@BoredCricket) June 20, 2016

After 9 overs,India 61/0 ( Lokesh Rahul 28 , Mandeep Singh 30)

Chibhabha is introduced in the eighth over, and Zimbabwe’s poor fielding is exposed once again after Mandeep is given another reprieve, getting dropped at deep square-leg! Mandeep attempts a pull, but doesn’t get enough power on the shot for it to be a six. The ball bounces out of the fielder’s palms near the boundary, and bounces over the rope for it to be adjudged a six, which also brings up India’s 50. Should be a stroll in the park for the visitors now.

After 6 overs,India 37/0 ( Lokesh Rahul 21 , Mandeep Singh 15)

Mandeep looks to go big on the leg side, but ends up top-edging towards backwward square-leg. Two fielders — Waller and Muzarabani — converge near the boundary, and let go of an opportunity that could have given the hosts the early momentum. Mandeep hammers the very next ball through extra-cover to make a statement, while Rahul gets his second boundary in the next over. India need 63 to win from 84 balls, with 10 wickets in hand.

After 3 overs,India 10/0 ( Lokesh Rahul 5 , Mandeep Singh 4)

Rahul and Mandeep walk out to open the Indian innings, with a relatively simple target of 100 being the challenge ahead of them. The duo start things off on a slow note. India get to 10 for no loss at the end of the first three overs. The duo need to preserve wickets at the start of the innings, something which they miserably failed in in the previous game.

Sixth time India have restricted an opponent to less than 100 in T20Is.
Opponents being: Eng, UAE, SL, Pak, Aus and Zim#ZimvInd

— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) June 20, 2016

After 20 overs,Zimbabwe 99/9 ( Donald Tiripano 11 , Taurai Muzarabani 0)

Barinder Sran finishes with figures of 4/10 after exhausting his quota of overs, the best by an Indian on T20I debut. Bumrah nearly gets his fourth wicket when skipper Cremer mis-hits the final ball of the over high over deep point, where the ball falls in no-man’s land. Kulkarni bowls the last over, and skipper Cremer miscues a short delivery to Rayudu at cover while looking to clear the arc on the off-side, departing for 4. Tiripano gets the hosts closer to the 100-run mark with a well-timed six down the ground followed by a single. Muzarabani fails to score off the last two balls as the hosts remain stranded on 99/9 at the end of 20 overs.

After 18 overs,Zimbabwe 86/8 ( Graeme Cremer (C) 1 , Donald Tiripano 2)

Skipper Cremer joins Chigumbura at the centre, with the latter getting his first boundary in the 16th over with a sweep off Axar towards backward square-leg! The duo are the last-recognised pair for the Zimbabweans, and will have to pull off a magical partnership if they are to guide the hosts to a respectable score today. Bumrah cuts Chigumbura down to size by sending his middle-stump cartwheeling in his third over, before subjecting Madziva to a similar treatment a couple of deliveries later, as Zimbabwe collapse to 83 for 8, and are staring at a sub-100 total. Sran returns to the attack for his final over, and misses out on a hat-trick at the start of his over.

After 15 overs,Zimbabwe 76/6 ( Elton Chigumbura 3 , Graeme Cremer (C) 0)

Moor begins his offensive against the Indian attack, starting with a humungous six straight over the Axar’s head, that sends the ball onto the roof, before smashing a boundary a couple of deliveries later. His attacking approach nearly costs him his wicket, as he miscues an attempted slog towards midwicket. Chahal however, runs towards short mid-on, and spills the chance. Bumrah makes up for the Chahal’s drop by getting rid of Moor with a slow, short ball which the batsman top-edges to Axar near backward point to depart for 31.

After 12 overs,Zimbabwe 57/5 ( Peter Moor (W) 17 , Elton Chigumbura 0)

Rayudu’s superb fielding at wide long-on helps save five runs for the visitors, as he pulls off what is becoming quite commong in modern-day fielding — taking a catch just outside the boundary, and throwing it back once the fielder realises he is crossing the rope. Meanwhile, Malcolm Waller’s innings comes to an end after Axar takes a fine catch — leaping to his right — for the former to depart for 14, with the hosts losing their fifth wicket with 57 on board.

Sran becomes the second Indian to take four wickets on T20I debut. Pragyan Ojha was the first

Live: https://t.co/K9tUzyjP2T #ZIMvIND

— Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) June 20, 2016

After 9 overs,Zimbabwe 47/4 ( Peter Moor (W) 11 , Malcolm Waller 10)

Spinners Axar and Chahal are introduced after powerplay, and the latter gets hit for a boundary off his second delivery by Waller. Bumrah is introduced in the next over, and concedes just one off it. Meanwhile, Waller and Moor are starting to construct a partnership here, and are crucial for the hosts to recover.

After 6 overs,Zimbabwe 35/4 ( Peter Moor (W) 9 , Malcolm Waller 0)

If the first game helped bring a massive smile on the faces of Zimbabweans, the fifth over of their innings in the second game has brought the old nightmares back, as debutant Barinder Sran tears through the top-order and get three wickets in the over, with Zimbabwe collapsing to 28/4! Masakadza gets his middle-stump uprooted while looking for a wild heave towards leg! Sikandar Raza gets off the mark, before guiding his second delivery straight to KL Rahul at gully, thanks to some smart field placements. Mutombodzi departs first ball after getting trapped lbw off a rising delivery from Sran, with umpire Russell Tiffin taking his time before raising the finger. 

Kulkarni nearly gets the fifth wicket of the Zimbabwean innings when Waller cuts a widish delivery straight to Manish Pandey at point, where the latter lets go of a sitter!

The Indian team in a tight huddle before the game. Can MS Dhoni and co. bounce back in the three-T20I series?

#TeamIndia huddle. Let's play #ZimvInd pic.twitter.com/OLd0zcaBwJ

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 20, 2016

Five debuts for India in the first T20I. 

Two get theirs today. 

News Alert - Dhawal Kulkarni and Barinder Sran are making their #T20I debut #TeamIndia #ZimvInd pic.twitter.com/SRJ9a3FfWh

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 20, 2016

India XI: KL Rahul, Mandeep Singh, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (c,wk), Axar Patel, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jasprit Bumrah, Barinder Sran, Yuzvendra Chahal

Zimbabwe XI: Chamu Chibhabha, Hamilton Masakadza, Peter Moor (wk), Sikandar Raza, Malcolm Waller, Tinotenda Mutombodzi, Elton Chigumbura, Graeme Cremer (c), Neville Madziva, Taurai Muzarabani, Donald Tiripano

News from the centre — Zimbabwe win the toss, and skipper Graeme Cremer elects to bat first.

Hello and welcome to Firstpost’s live coverage of the second T20I between India and Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club on Monday. This is Amit Banerjee, and I shall keep you updated with the events. Can India level the three-match series 1-1 today? Or will the hosts pull off yet another spectacular win to clinch the series? Stay tuned to find out!