Yuzvendra Chahal puts Zimbabwe in a spin as India claim series
HARARE, (Reuters) - Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal took three for 25 as India cruised to an eight wicket victory over Zimbabwe on Monday to clinch the three-match One-Day International series. India claimed victory in the series opener on Saturday by nine wickets and in this second fixture restricted Zimbabwe to 126 all out after sending their hosts in to bat at the Harare Sports Club.
The tourists reached their modest victory target for the loss of openers Lokesh Rahul (33) and Karun Nair (39) as the latter put on 67 for the second wicket with Ambati Rayudu (41 not out). India had 23.1 overs remaining in what was a one-sided contest between their inexperienced selection and a reeling Zimbabwe side whose coach Dav Whatmore was sacked on the eve of the series.
Only Vusi Sibanda (53) offered any sort of resistance in the Zimbabwe batting innings, with just two other players reaching double-figures as they lost their last seven wickets for 20 runs.
The scalps were shared among the Indian bowlers, but Chahal was the pick with three for 25 in his six overs.
The Zimbabwe innings was hampered by the loss of batsman Sean Williams, who injured his finger between the toss and the start of the match and did not bat. The final match of the ODI series will be staged on Wednesday, after which the teams will play three Twenty20 matches starting on Saturday.
Brief scores
Zimbabwe 126 all out (Sibanda 53, Chahal 3/21) lost to India 129/7 (Rayudu 41*, Karun 39, Raza 1/7)