India celebrate after taking a wicket on their tour of Zimbabwe

India registered a convincing 4-1 win over Zimbabwe in the sides' five-T20I series, which concluded on Sunday (July 14) in Harare as India secured a 42-run victory in the final match. Here are the five things we learnt, from both an Indian and Zimbabwean perspective.

India keen on Jaiswal-Gill opening combination

With Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retiring from T20Is, the make-up of India's top three was always likely to change. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill have opened on multiple occasions in their absence over the last few years, so it is no genuine surprise that they were the preferred pair on this tour.

 

 

The threat to this partnership was Abhishek Sharma, who has lit up the IPL and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy over the last two seasons. With Jaiswal unavailable for the first two games, Abhishek opened the innings with Gill, and even slammed a quickfire century in just his second international game. However, when Jaiswal returned, it was Abhishek who was pushed down to No.3.

Indian fans may feel disappointed that they did not get to watch Jaiswal and Abhishek bat together for even one delivery during this series. It could be an opening pair well worth exploring down the line.   

Shubman Gill's batting is a concern

Captain for this series, Gill did not as such have a difficult time with the bat. He struck two fifties between a few low scores, but the quantum of runs was not an issue. Rather, his scoring rate was. Even in IPL 2024, Gill scored at a rate marginally below average for the tournament, while averaging 38.

 

 

In this series, he averaged 42.5, striking at 126. Early indications, however, are that the team management feels his anchoring role is necessary for the side. Whether this will change as Gautam Gambhir settles into his role as the new head coach remains to be seen, but this format is gradually moving away from the need for batters who register fat averages along with subpar scoring rates. 

Ruturaj Gaikwad has a new role to play

Primarily an opener in the IPL, Chennai Super Kings captain Gaikwad's role in the scheme of things for India appears to be changing. He batted twice at No.3 and once at No.4 in his three times in the middle, suggesting India may be looking at him as an alternative option in the middle-order.

Read more: Ganguly recalls influence in appointing Rohit as captain

Gaikwad is a similar kind of batter to Gill, and comes with similar concerns around his scoring rate. But given that he opens consistently for CSK and is used in the middle-order for India, he may be the first or second backup for India's top three, or even four, positions.

In the recently-concluded Maharashtra Premier League, Gaikwad even batted as low as five or six for Puneri Bappa. If he can develop into a multi-skilled batter, he could be an incredibly useful backup option for India across the lineup. Whether this will inform his position in CSK's lineup next season will be something to keep an eye on. 

Zimbabwe still highly reliant on Sikandar Raza

When one player in a starting XI has the experience, ability and profile that Sikandar Raza does, it is inevitable that they become the de facto leader of the side (and very often the captain as well). More concerning for Zimbabwe is that not many of their other players looked up to the mark against this Indian team.

A couple of players in Dion Myers and Wessly Madhevere showed flashes of providing Raza with support in the batting department, but the captain often came in having to rebuild innings rather than finish them. This gap was more in the spin bowling department, where Raza took six wickets, but Zimbabwe could not rely on all-rounders Wellington Masakadza or Brian Bennett with much consistency.     

Muzarabani needs to be a Blessing for more T20 teams

While Zimbabwe's spinners were poor, and the bowling attack as a whole posed a limited number of questions to India's batters, Blessing Muzarabani quietly continued to excel in T20 cricket. The 6'8" fast bowler showcased his ability to bowl in the powerplay and through the middle overs, often troubling the Indians with his ability to extract extra bounce from the surface.

 

 

In the five matches, he returned 1-17, 1-30, 2-25, 0-25 and 2-19 for an economy rate of exactly six runs per over. These performances are not new for him, but being this consistent against opposition of a significantly higher quality than usual is something to take note of.

Despite consistently churning out performances for Zimbabwe, Muzarabani's opportunities on the franchise T20 circuit have been limited, particularly in more high-profile leagues like the IPL and the Big Bash – a shame for a bowler as talented and by now as experienced as he is. There is still time for his chance, though.

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