India rout Zimbabwe to clinch ODI series

Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal took three for 25 as India cruised to an eight wicket victory over Zimbabwe on Monday to clinch the three-match One-Day International series.

India claimed victory in the series opener on Saturday by nine wickets and in this second fixture restricted Zimbabwe to 126 all out after sending their hosts in to bat at the Harare Sports Club.

The tourists reached their modest victory target for the loss of openers Lokesh Rahul (33) and Karun Nair (39) as the latter put on 67 for the second wicket with Ambati Rayudu (41 not out).

India had 23.1 overs remaining in what was a one-sided contest between their inexperienced selection and a reeling Zimbabwe side whose coach Dav Whatmore was sacked on the eve of the series.

Only Vusi Sibanda (53) offered any sort of resistance in the Zimbabwe batting innings, with just two other players reaching double-figures as they lost their last seven wickets for 20 runs.

The scalps were shared among the Indian bowlers, but Chahal was the pick with three for 25 in his six overs.

The Zimbabwe innings was hampered by the loss of batsman Sean Williams, who injured his finger between the toss and the start of the match and did not bat.

The final match of the ODI series will be staged on Wednesday, after which the teams will play three Twenty20 matches starting on Saturday.

India outplayed Zimbabwe by eight wickets to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.

Winning the toss and electing to bat, India led by Yuzvendra Chahal's three wickets and two each from Barinder Sran and Dhawal Kulkarni, bundled out the hosts for a paltry 126.

KL Rahul (33), Karun Nair (39) and Ambati Rayudu (41 not out) finished the job in with 140 balls to spare.

Nair fails to stay at the crease till the winning run.

Karun Nair lbw b Sikandar Raza 39 (68b 5x4)

Back-to-back fours from Rayudu takes India closer to victory. Ind 100-1, 22 overs. Zim were 93-3 at this stage.

Rahul plays on.

KL Rahul b Chibhabha 33 (50b 4x4)

LUNCH

DROPPED! Raza spills a chance off Rahul. Ind 48-0, 12 overs.

Rahul slams two fours and India are on their way at 37 for no loss after 8 overs.

Karun Nair survives a caught behind after Chatara is found to have bowled a no-ball.

Classy straight drive from Rahul past the bowler Muzarabani is testimony of the form the India opener is in after his ton in the first ODI.

KL Rahul and Karun Nair have begun India's chase in right earnest.

Zimbabwe innings

Chahal bags three as India skittle Zimbabwe for 126

India legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal picked up three wickets as Zimbabwe were bowled out for a paltry 126 in the second one-day international at Harare Sports Club on Monday.

Chahal overcame a brief onslaught from Vusi Sibanda to trigger a dramatic Zimbabwe collapse, which saw the hosts lose five wickets for the addition of just six runs.

Sibanda's positive strokeplay had taken Zimbabwe to a promising 106 for three after they had lost the toss and been sent in to bat, but Chahal picked up the wickets of Sikandar Raza, Elton Chigumbura and Sibanda in the space of nine deliveries.

Zimbabwe's cause was not helped by the fact that Sean Williams was unable to bat.

After being named as a replacement for the injured Craig Ervine, Williams was hit on the finger whilst warming up and sent for an X-ray.

Chahal finished with figures of 3 for 25 from six overs, while seamers Barinder Sran and Dhawal Kulkarni picked up a couple of wickets apiece.

Sibanda's 53 was the top score for Zimbabwe.

India lead the three-match series 1-0 after winning the first ODI by nine wickets.

A disciplined bowling attack led by Yuzvendra Chahal with three wickets enabled India to bundle hosts Zimbabwe out for a paltry 126 in the second ODI at the Harare Sports Club on Monday.

Dhoni won the toss and elected to bowl under slightly overcast conditions and his bowlers justified his decision once again like they did in the first ODI with Barinder Sran bagging two early wickets and Chahal breaking the middle-order backbone.

Dhawal Kulkarni and Jasprit Bumrah did their bit after Vusi Sibanda fought a lone battle for the hosts with 53.

Sean Williiams has been declared injured so India will resume their innings.

Patel gets his first wicket,

Taurai Muzarabani lbw b Patel 5 (10b 1x4)

Zimbabwe seem to lose the plot as wickets keep falling in a heap. Zim 115-8, 32 overs.

Tendai Chatara b Kulkarni 2 (6b)

Bumrah who bagged four wickets in the first ODI is finally rewarded in his 5th over getting an inside edge off Mutumbami. Zim 114-7, 31 overs.

Richmond Mutumbami c Dhoni b Bumrah 2 (14b)

In th last 40 balls Zimbabwe have scored 11 runs and lost three wickets. Zim 111-6, 30 overs.

Chahal is on a roll here getting rid of dangerman Sibanda. Zim 107-6, 28 overs.

Vusi Sibanda c Jadhav b Chahal 53 (69b 6x4 1x6)

Chahal strikes with his next ball and Zimbabwe are suddenly in trouble.Zim 106-5, 26 overs.

Elton Chigumbura lbw b Chahal 0 (1b)

That was a reckless shot from Raza after Sibanda was batting well at the other end.  

Sikandar Raza c Jadhav b Chahal 16 (41b 1x4)

Vusi pulls Axar Patel for four to bring up his half century.Zim 106-3, 25 overs.

Sibanda and Sikandar Raza have built up a nice 50-run partnership here. Zim 89-3, 21 overs.

A six from Sibanda off Chahal brings some cheer to the paltry home crowd after runs were hard to come by. Zim 76-3, 18 overs..

DRINKS

Vusi Sibanda has decided to give it the charge and goes after Bumrah, hitting him for two boundaries. Zim 61-3, 15 overs.

Chibhabha is cramped for space and trapped in front. Zim 39-3, 10 overs.

Chamu Chibhabha lbw b Kulkarni 21 (26b 1x4)

Barinder Sran is bowling well. After troubling Moor he finally raps him on the pads although Hawkeye showed the ball was going over the stumps. A little unlucky though for the batsman.Ian Gould was the umpire. Zim 22-2, 7 overs.

Peter Moor lbw b Sran 1 (9b)

Masakadza tries to pull Sran over third man but ends up holing out an easy catch to Bumrah. Zim 20-1, 5 overs.

H Masakadza c Bumrah b Sran 9 (17b 1x4)

Hamilton Masakadza has deided to throw his bat around. 

Chamu Chibhabha finds the gap off Dhawal Kulkarni past the mid-on fielder for four..

The match is scheduled to start at 11am UAE time.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss again and without hesitation opted to bowl under overcast conditions. No change in the squad though.

Sean Williams comes in for Craig Ervine in the Zimbabwe team.

Teams

Zimbabwe: P Moor, C Chibhabha, H Masakadza, S Williams, V Sibanda, Sikandar Raza, E Chigumbura, R Mutumbami, A Cremer, T Chatara, T Muzarabani.

India: KL Rahul, M Pandey, K Nair, A Rayudu, K Jadhav, MS Dhoni, A Patel, D Kulkarni, J Bumrah, B Sran, Y Chahal.

India will eye a series win while Zimbabwe will aim to draw level when they clash in the second one-day international at Harare Sports Club on Monday.

Opener KL Rahul became the first Indian to hit a century on one-day international debut as he secured a comfortable nine-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in the first ODI at Harare Sports Club on Saturday.

With just two runs required for victory, Rahul launched Hamilton Masakadza for six to finish unbeaten on 100, as India chased down a target of 169 with more than seven overs to spare.

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