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India regained their confidence the following day, demonstrating their immense potential with the bat and ball, following a rust-ridden loss in a low-scoring opening Twenty20 international.
Although Zimbabwe has obvious flaws, they are still a dangerous opponent, and their challenge of turning a 1-1 series deficit into a series victory has only grown more difficult. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, and Shivam Dube—three players who were a part of India’s winning T20 World Cup campaign—will bolster the country.
Zimbabwe’s strategy for the remaining games in this series will need to be calculated. The fact that they excluded seasoned veterans like Sean Williams and Craig Ervine for this series means that while they will need to continue honing the fundamentals, they also need to be realistic about their goals and acknowledge that it will take time for their young players to establish themselves. Dropped catches may have contributed to their defeat in the second Twenty20 International.
“A lot of mistakes our youngsters have made have been due to lack of [experience] and not so much to do with their skills, so that’s a positive as well,” Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza said after the second T20I. “As they play, as they continue to find their feet in international cricket, they’ll learn. We all have been there.”
This series has seen Brian Bennett hit a nine-ball 26 and a 15-ball 22 in the first two innings. With his accurate hitting at No. 3 and his offspin, he has proven that he is one of Zimbabwe’s potential game-changers. If he is able to spend a significant amount of time at the crease during this series, he might potentially win them a game or two.
Due to his involvement in the festivities back home, he was unable to participate in any matches during India’s World Cup campaign and was also absent from the first two games of this series. It’s Sanju Samson’s turn at last. In the nearly nine years since his debut, he has only played 25 Twenty20 international matches. However, he may now be locked in for three straight games, so maybe he can take advantage of the chance.