Ishan Kishan took on the Zimbabwe bowlers after the wicket of Abhishek Sharma who fell for just 8 runs in the second over of the 2nd T20I against Zimbabwe. Kishan scored a quickfire 50 runs in just 31 balls in the second T20I match against Zimbabwe, making it his 12th T20I half century in International cricket.
Kishan came to the crease after the wicket of Abhishek Sharma in the end of the second over. Just after taking on to the pitch the Jharkhand batsman hit the Zimbabwe prodigy Blessings Muzzabani for a six. As the openers Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi failed to form a solid partnership in the beginning overs of the 2nd T20I at the Harare Stadium, Ishan Kishan and middle order batsman Tilak Varma stabilised the innings after the skipper Shreyas Iyer also fell for just 25 runs.
The 28-year-old scored his half century at a blazing strike rate of 161.29. Kishan took just one run off Brad Evans in the thirteenth over of the match to complete his half century. This milestone has come after a tough period for the batsman in the T20I series and ODI series against England where he had been extremely underwhelming. Prior to today’s match, Kishan was standing at 1498 runs, just 2 runs away from crossing his 1500 career runs in T20I cricket. As he took on the pitch to play against Zimbabwe Kishan is now sitting at 1550 T20I runs in International T20 cricket.
India aim to secure series win over Zimbabwe
Team India would be looking forward to securing the second T20I against Zimbabwe to chase their series win after two consecutive series losses against Ireland and England. The win against Zimbabwe in the first T20I at the Harare Stadium came as a big relief after the India team was facing intense scrutiny after two big losses in such a short time.
The win also registered Shreyas Iyer’s first victory as a skipper in T20I who was under immense pressure after underwhelming performances by the team, though he managed to score two half centuries each against Ireland and England.
The first T20I match against Zimbabwe also marked Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's first T20I half century as the young Bihar prodigy hit the milestone in just 18 balls and became the youngest ever International player to do so. The opening duo of Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi also marked the end of Sanju Samson’s place in the Indian T20I team as he was earlier excluded in the team announced for the series.
Gujarat Titans’ find Ashok Sharma also announced his debut to the International cricket as the youngster didn't get any wickets but bowled at the economy of 7.25 in the four overs he bowled for the team. Mayank Yadav from Lucknow Super Giants also marked his comeback to International cricket after a brief period where he missed international opportunities due to his injuries. Yadav made his comeback by taking 2 wickets for just 18 runs, securing the Player of the Match and the first win for his skipper Shreyas Iyer.
