INDIA CRUSHES ZIMBABWE, STRIDES INTO SEMIS AS SURYA SHINES

The Men in Blue have left the ghosts of the 2021 T20 world Cup well behind them as they enter the semi-finals topping their group in the league stage. On Sunday, in front of an 80 thousand plus crowd in Melbourne Cricket Ground, India won by 71 runs against Zimbabwe and set up a semifinal clash against England on Thursday. India’s win had all the bases covered as they dominated the match in all departments of the game. But the cherry on the cake was Suryakumar Yadav’s scintillating hitting in the last 5 overs of Indian innings. His 61 of 25 balls not only made sure that India reached a formidable total but also reminded Indian fans about how good a middle order batsman Surya is and the one that Team India was missing over the past few years. India’s berth in the Semis was already booked after Netherlands pulled off a stunning upset over South Africa earlier in the day. But as is rightly said, momentum is easy to lose and one must keep it going as long as possible, especially heading into the business end of a major tournament. So, it was important for India to win comfortably to stay confident before the big clash against England. India made only one change in their line up as Rishabh Pant was included in the eleven in place of Dinesh Karthik. Winning the toss, Rohit Sharma chose to bat first. This was a correct decision according to most experts particularly since Rohit himself needed to find form and spend some time at the wicket.

Sadly, the Indian skipper was unable to benefit much from batting first as he was dismissed quickly once again. His terrific shot making against short pitched balls is proving to be his nemesis for the time being on the bouncy pitches of Australia and Rohit holed out pulling one straight to deep square leg scoring just 15. Kohli and Rahul then kept the score card moving, stitching a 60- run partnership for the second wicket. Rahul was the aggressor between the two and he put up another classy show of his striking abilities. His 51 off 35 balls set up the base for a big total and at the halfway stage, India was at 80 having lost just 1 wicket. It was then that a mini collapse threatened to derail India. Rahul, Kohli and Pant all perished within a span of just 14 runs. The stage was set for a Hardik and Surya show. While Hardik played the second fiddle making 18 of 18 balls, Surya stole the limelight with his 4 sixes and 6 fours. His constant scooping of Zimbabwean bowlers over the short fine leg for boundaries and sixers had all fans in a tizzy. His knock put India in a powerful position and gave their bowlers a strong total of 186 to defend.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been in fine form since his return from injury and has bowled many dot balls in powerplay overs. His first over was a maiden again as he picked up a wicket on his very first delivery. Kohli dived to pick up a stunning catch to dismiss Wessly Madhevere. It was total capitulation from then on by the Zimbabwe batsman. All Indian bowlers chipped in with wickets at regular intervals. After the powerplay Zimbabwe was at 27 runs having lost 3 wickets and then got reduced to 36 for 5 in the next two overs. Sikandar Raza has been the best batsman for Zimbabwe in the tournament and his 34 along with Ryan Burl’s 35 took their team to a semblance of a total before it all concluded in the 18th over as they were bowled for a paltry 115. The Men in Blue now head to Adelaide for their semi-final meeting with England. India’s roaring juggernaut has gained the much-needed confidence ahead of the knock-out contest. England meanwhile, struggled to win against a weak Sri Lankan team in their last league game. Both teams though were tagged as the favorites at the start of the tournament and now stand just 2 wins away from ultimate glory.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

SIDDHAARTH MAHAN  The writer is a specialist on Sports and Cinema who works as an actor in the Hindi film industry