India vs Zimbabwe, 1st ODI: India defeats Zimbabwe by 10 Wickets

Shubman Gill and Shikhar Dhawan hit half-centuries to lead India to defeat Zimbabwe by ten wickets on Thursday. India is now leading 1-0 in their three-match One-Day International (ODI) series in Harare.

Dhawan scored an unbeaten 81, and Gill scored an unbeaten 82, as the pair put on an unbroken 192-run stand. Zimbabwe had a few opportunities to take wickets but failed to score.

The Indian openers got off to a slow beginning on Thursday before accelerating their pace and penetrating the gaps all over the ground. While Gill embarked on the offensive, Dhawan anchored the attack.

KL Rahul won the toss and chose to bat first. Chahar annihilated Zimbabwe's top order, taking three of four wickets. The top four Zimbabwean batters all scored in the single digits as the home team struggled against the Men in Blue's bowling.

Deepak Chahar, Axar Patel, and Prasidh Krishna each took three wickets as India bowled Zimbabwe out for 189 in 40.3 overs. Dill and Dhawan then made light work of the run-chase, reaching the target in 30.5 overs.

The Chevrons would have been bowled out for a much lower total if it was not for the partnership of Brad Evans and Richard Ngarava. They added a record 70 runs for the ninth wicket to give their final score.

Match highlights

The 192-run partnership is India's second-highest in a ten-wicket win in ODI cricket. Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly are at the top after a 197-run stand in Sharjah in 1998.

Dhawan is now tied with Ganguly for the most 50-plus scores by an Indian opener in away ODIs. Sachin Tendulkar leads the list with 29 such scores.

After a lengthy injury layoff, Chahar joined India for the first time in six months. The CSK pacer finished with figures of 3/27, limiting Zimbabwe to 189 in 40.3 overs. His previous best was a 2/37 spell against Sri Lanka in Colombo (RPS) in 2021.

Patel had his best ODI bowling figures of 3/24. His previous best was 3/34 in a 2017 match against Sri Lanka in Dambulla.

The win is India's 13th straight ODI victory against Zimbabwe, the longest winning streak against a single opponent. Between 1988 and 2004, they defeated Bangladesh 12 times in a row.

The top four Zimbabwean batters were quashed for single-digit scores for the second time against India. The first occurred in 2005 at the same location.

Tour of Zimbabwe recap

Team India is currently on tour in Zimbabwe, attempting to win their third consecutive overseas series. The Men in Blue have a young squad for this tour because the more senior players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Mohammed Shami are rested to prepare for the 2022 Asia Cup.

The three-match ODI series began on August 18 and will conclude on August 22. The team is led by Rahul, with Dhawan serving as his deputy.

The Zimbabwe starting lineup is similar to the one used against Bangladesh earlier this month when Zimbabwe won a three-match ODI series 2-1. Captain Regis Chakabva and all-rounder Sikandar Raza are leading the team.