The Indian cricket team began their ODI series against Zimbabwe with a massive 10-wicket win over the hosts in the first match on Thursday, August 18. India skipper KL Rahul won the toss and chose to bowl first, as the Men in Blue restricted Zimbabwe to 189 runs in 40.3 overs. Indian openers Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill proved to be the Achilles heel for Zimbabwe‘s bowling, who remained undefeated to lead the visitors to a win in Harare.
As India chose to bowl first, the Indian bowling lineup had a field day against the Zimbabwean batting line-up. Deepak Chahar opened the account for the visitors, claiming three wickets before Zimbabwe crossed 50 runs. Chahar claimed the wickets of both Zimbabwean openers, Innocent Kaia and Tadiwanashe Marumani, along with Wesley Madhevere, before all of them could reach double figures in runs.
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Prasidh Krishna and Axar Patel also displayed memorable performances against Zimbabwe in the first ODI match, claiming three wickets each. Apart from them, Mohammed Siraj also picked up a wicket as he dismissed Sean Williams of Zimbabwe. Only left-arm pacer Kuldeep Yadav could not pick up a wicket as he registered a figure of 0/36 with an economy rate of 3.60 in 10 overs.
India bowled Zimbabwe out in 40.3 overs for 189 runs. Indian opening duo Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill replicated their impressive performance from the West Indies tour earlier this month once again in Harare, remaining undefeated on 81 and 82 runs respectively, helping India clinch the victory.
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The match also saw Indian all-rounder Deepak Hooda scripting a unique record. Hooda, who made his India debut earlier this year in February against West Indies, marked his 15th match for the country against Zimbabwe on Thursday. Incidentally, the all-rounder also clinched his 15th victory representing India on Thursday, meaning the country has never lost whenever he has started. He equalled the record of Romanian cricketer Satvik Nadigotla, who has also won 15 matches since making his debut.
India will face Zimbabwe in the second ODI match on Saturday, August 20 in Harare.
