Chevrons finish bottom after India loss

The Chronicle

Brandon Moyo, Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE were thumped by India in their last match of the 2022 International Cricket Council Men’s T20 World Cup by 71 runs at a fully packed Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne, Australia yesterday.

The result saw the Chevrons finish bottom of Group 2 in the Super 12 with three points, which is really disappointing considering that at some point they were in contention for a place in the semi-finals after shocking Pakistan by one run.

India posted 186/5 in 20 overs after electing to bat first and the Chevrons failed to get going with the bat from the start of the innings to be bowled out for 115 all out to register a devastating defeat. It was the third loss in the Super 12 for the Chevrons after losses to Bangladesh and Netherlands.

Zimbabwe will take solace from the fact that their highly fancied neighbours South Africa are also heading home after suffering an embarrassing 13-run loss at the hands of Netherlands, which saw Pakistan sneak into the semifinals.

With the Zimbabwean spinners keeping India’s star-studded batting line up at bay, it was world number one batsman in T20 cricket Suryakumar Yadav who produced yet another fine innings with the bat to guide India to a huge total. Yadav scored an unbeaten 61 off just 25 deliveries to pick up the Player of the Match accolade. The right hander struck six fours and four sixes.

Opener and vice-captain Lokesh Rahul fell immediately after reaching his half century on 51 runs off 35 deliveries.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli scored 15 and 26 runs respectively while Rishabh Pant, who made his return to the team scored three runs only. Zimbabwean fast bowlers made India’s scoring job a lot easier as they all went for over 30 runs.

Blessing Muzarabani was the most expensive of the bowlers, going for 50 runs in his four overs and taking just one wicket. Richard Ngarava who has been impressive despite not taking many wickets went for 44 runs in his four overs with one wicket as well while Tendai Chatara conceded 34 runs in four overs.

Shockingly, the spinners were not given the ball despite all of them having splendid figures. Left arm spinner Sean Williams with two overs bowled conceded just nine runs and took two wickets while off spinner Sikandar Raza in three overs took one wicket for 18 runs. Wellington Masakadza, another left arm spinner, who was playing his first match conceded only 12 runs in two overs and leg spinner Ryan Burl bowled one over and went for 14 runs.

Sean Williams batting against India

Chasing a mammoth total, the Chevrons openers once again failed to get going with Wessly Madhevere and Regis Chakabva falling cheaply, leaving the team reeling at 2/2 in 1.4 overs. Captain Craig Ervine scored 13 runs while fellow left hander Williams chipped in with 11 runs before both departed.

Tony Munyonga, playing his second match was unsuccessful in trying to justify his selection in the team as he was trapped leg before wicket by Mohammed Shami for five runs. It was however Burl and Raza who steadied Zimbabwe’s innings, top scoring with 35 and 34 runs respectively as the Chevrons were bowled out for 115 in 17.2 overs.

In his post-match interview, Zimbabwe captain Ervine said in the previous matches they went away from the positive and fearless cricket that they had been playing building up to the World Cup and in the early stages of the tournament that saw them reach the Super 12 and win against 2021 semi-finalists, Pakistan.

Richard Ngarava bowling against India

Ervine added that they should not put aside the good work they did to get into the Super 12 and they will build from that as they fought hard throughout.

With Zimbabwe out of the World Cup, it is however, not the end of the prestigious tournament as it continues with the semifinals on Wednesday and Thursday before the final on Sunday. Pakistan clash with New Zealand while India collide with England for a spot in the final at the MCG.

The Chevrons also missed out on automatic qualification for the 2024 edition of the World Cup. – @brandon_malvin

Article Source: The Chronicle

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