2 mistakes and 1 masterstroke by India in the 1st T20I vs Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe sent the Harare crowd into ecstasy as they beat India by 13 runs in the first T20I of the five-match series on Saturday, July 6. Sikandar Raza and his men were switched on in the second innings and managed to defend a low score against an inexperienced Indian lineup.

The result has set the tone for the rest of the series, which promises to be packed with entertainment and tightly fought contests. Shubman Gill and company will have to head back to the drawing board and try to ascertain where it all went wrong. That won't be a particularly tough task, since the Men in Blue were far off their best in multiple departments.

On that note, here are two mistakes and one masterstroke made by India in the first T20I against Zimbabwe.

#3 Mistake - India botched the death-overs phase of both innings

When the ninth Zimbabwe wicket fell in the first innings, only 90 runs were on the board. The No. 11 batter wasn't expected to be tough to dislodge, and India had overs from all their frontline quicks remaining.

However, the visitors lost the plot and didn't have a clear plan to wrap the innings up. Avesh Khan bowled length balls into the surface that Clive Madande was happy to pick the gaps off, and Gill didn't try anything different with his field to force him off strike.

Zimbabwe put on 25 runs for the last wicket, with Tendai Chatara facing nine balls and Madande making a team-high 29. Avesh and Mukesh Kumar went wicketless in the last three overs and helped the hosts get to an eventually winning score.

Meanwhile, in the second innings, Washington Sundar didn't try unconventional shots to upset the rhythm of the opposition bowlers. Even though Blessing Muzarabani was bowling pace on at a comfortable length with fine leg inside the circle, the left-hander didn't try the ramp and instead attempted to force the pace.

India's batting and bowling were both disappointing in the death-overs phase.

#2 Masterstroke - Shubman Gill kept his spinners on until the 18th over

Until the 18th over, Shubman Gill kept his spinners on to dismantle the Zimbabwe batting lineup. India, who started with five overs of pace in the powerplay, saw Ravi Bishnoi and Washington Sundar rip through the opposition's middle and lower order.

It would've been easy for Gill to bring back Khaleel Ahmed or Mukesh Kumar in the middle overs, but he adopted the right approach and trusted his spinners to do the job. Arguably, he should've tossed the ball to Abhishek Sharma or maybe even Riyan Parag in the last three overs of the first innings.

The result was telling. While Bishnoi bowled two maidens and registered his best-ever T20I figures, Sundar conceded just 11 runs and recorded two scalps of his own.

#1 Mistake - India's shot selection was terrible in the chase

Gaikwad flashed at one outside off [Image Courtesy: Zimbabwe Cricket on X]

Ruturaj Gaikwad flashed at one outside off and was caught at slip even though there was barely any movement on offer. Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel attempted shots on the up off pace despite the pitch having extra bounce and a touch of hold.

Abhishek Sharma miscued a pull to the long deep midwicket boundary in the very first over, without giving himself some time to get his eye in on a tricky track. Rinku Singh also fell victim to a pull, with his being against pace when India were already in a terrible situation.

India's top and middle order played disappointing shots to be dismissed, with their inexperience showing. While it isn't a major concern, given the talent they possess, they will be disappointed with how they were caught out on Saturday.