India complete 3-0 whitewash over Zimbabwe

Kedar Jadhav made Zimbabwe pay for a woeful dropped catch as his unbeaten century powered India to an 83-run victory in the third one-day international at Harare Sports Club on Tuesday and a series whitewash.

Jadhav was on 41 when Elton Chigumbura put down the simplest of chances off the bowling of Graeme Cremer, and the Indian batsman went on to score 105 not out as India posted 276 for five.

The feat gave Indian cricket something to cheer about on the day that two Indian Premier League franchises were suspended for two years and two officials were banned for life for their part in the 2013 fixing scandal.

Manish Pandey also provided a good news story as he made 71 on his long-awaited international debut - the fourth-highest score by an Indian debutant in ODIs.

As he had in the second ODI, Chamu Chibhabha provided the sole bright spot in Zimbabwe's reply, scoring 82 as the hosts were bowled out for 193 in 42.4 overs.

Earlier, a maiden century from Kedar Jadhav helped India complete a clean-sweep of the three-match one-day International series in Zimbabwe with an 83-run victory at Harare Sports Club on Tuesday.

Sent in to bat, India made a cautious start before Jadhav blazed an unbeaten 105 from 87 balls to propel the tourists to 276 for five in their 50 overs.

The home side lost wickets at regular intervals and were bowled out for 193 in the 43rd over.

India looked in trouble when they slumped to 82 for four but Jadhav, batting at number six, at first steadied the innings and then increased the scoring rate with some superb shots.

His highest score in three previous ODI matches was 20, but he found his rhythm in Harare, smashing 12 fours and a six while the other batsmen on both sides found boundaries hard to come by.

Jadhav added 144 for the fifth wicket with debutant Manish Pandey, who was last man out for 71 from 86 balls.

Zimbabwe battled from the start of their reply with only opener Chamu Chibhabha offering any sort of resistance as he reached a second half-century in two matches with 82 from 109 balls.

Stuart Binny, who has had a fine series with bat and ball, was the pick of the Indian bowlers and recorded figures of three for 55 from his 10 overs.

Harbhajan Singh, returning to ODI cricket in this series for the first time in four years, bowled tidily again for two for 35 from his 10.

The teams will begin a two-match Twenty20 series on Friday at the same venue.

Century

Kedar Jadhav made Zimbabwe pay for a woeful dropped catch as his unbeaten century powered India to 276 for five in the third and final one-day international at Harare Sports Club on Tuesday.

Jadhav was on 41 when Elton Chigumbura put down the simplest of chances off the bowling of Graeme Cremer, and the Indian batsman went on to score his maiden ton in just his fourth ODI.

The feat gave Indian cricket something to cheer about on the day that two Indian Premier League franchises were suspended for two years and two officials were banned for life for their part in the 2013 fixing scandal.

Manish Pandey also provided a good news story as he made 71 on his long-awaited international debut - the fourth-highest score by an Indian debutant in ODIs.

Jadhav and Pandey came together with India reeling on 82 for four in the 22nd over, but added 144 for the fifth wicket to put the tourists back on track.

Pandey's 86-ball knock came to an end when he holed out to long-on, but Jadhav helped India add 46 in the last three overs to finish unbeaten on 105 from just 87 deliveries.

India hold an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Scoreboard

India

A. Rahane c Utseya b Madziva 15
M. Vijay c Mutumbami b Madziva 13
R. Uthappa c Chigumbura b Masakadza 31
M. Tiwary c and b Utseya 10
M. Pandey c Sikandar Raza b Chibhabha 71
K. Jadhav not out 105
S. Binny not out 18
Extras (1b, 1lb, 10w, 1nb) 13
Total (5 wkts, 50 overs) 276
Fall of wickets: 1-25 (Rahane), 2-33 (Vijay), 3-68 (Tiwary), 4-82 (Uthappa), 5-226 (Pandey).
Did not bat: Harbhajan Singh, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma.
Bowling: Tiripano 8-0-46-0, Madziva 9-0-59-2, Chibhabha 8-0-55-1, Masakadza 10-0-31-1, Utseya 10-0-41-1, Cremer 5-0-42-0.

Zimbabwe: Sikandar Raza Butt, Chamu Chibhabha, Hamilton Masakadza, Elton Chigumbura (capt), Malcolm Waller, Regis Chakabva, Richmond Mutumbami (wk), Prosper Utseya, Graeme Cremer, Neville Madziva, Donald Tiripano.

Toss: Zimbabwe
Umpires: Simon Fry (AUS) and Jeremiah Matibiri (ZIM)
TV umpire: Russell Tiffin (ZIM)
Match referee: Roshan Mahanama (SRI)

Debut

Batsman Manish Pandey made a long-awaited international debut as India were once again asked to bat by Zimbabwe in the third and final one-day international at Harare Sports Club on Tuesday.

Pandey was denied the opportunity to play for India in a Twenty20 match last year when the West Indies aborted their tour because of a contract dispute, but was brought in on Tuesday to replace the injured Ambati Rayudu.

India, who hold an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series, made one other change to their line-up with seamer Mohit Sharma coming in for Dhawal Kulkarni in a like-for-like swap.

Zimbabwe won the toss for the third time in a row, and captain Elton Chigumbura once again opted to bowl as the hosts announced three changes.

All-rounder Sean Williams was ruled out with a knee injury and opening batsman Vusi Sibanda and seamer Brian Vitori were omitted, so Regis Chakabva, Malcolm Waller and Prosper Utseya came into the XI.

Teams

Zimbabwe: Sikandar Raza Butt, Chamu Chibhabha, Hamilton Masakadza, Elton Chigumbura (capt), Malcolm Waller, Regis Chakabva, Richmond Mutumbami (wk), Prosper Utseya, Graeme Cremer, Neville Madziva, Donald Tiripano.

India: Ajinkya Rahane (capt), Murali Vijay, Manish Pandey, Manoj Tiwary, Robin Uthappa (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Stuart Binny, Axar Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma.
 

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.