IND vs ZIM 2024, 1st T20I: India player ratings as Men in Blue suffer shock defeat despite Bishnoi heroics
Team India suffered a shock defeat in Harare as Zimbabwe stunned them by 13 runs in the series opener on Saturday, July 6. With the win, the hosts took a 1-0 lead in the five-match T20I rubber.
After Shubman Gill won the toss and chose to bowl, the Indian bowlers turned in a decent display, although they conceded a few too many runs at the end. However, the batters didn't show up at all as some excellent bowling from Zimbabwe put the visitors behind the eight ball early in the chase. India never recovered and fell short despite dragging the game into the final over.
On that note, here are India's player ratings from the 1st T20I vs Zimbabwe.
IND vs ZIM 2024: Bishnoi shines before disappointing batting collapse
Abhishek Sharma: 3/10
Abhishek bowled two overs that went for 17 runs, and although he got a bit of purchase, he wasn't as effective as the other spinners. He looked nervy in the first over and eventually miscued one straight to the deep midwicket fielder to walk back for a disappointing duck.
Shubman Gill: 6/10
Gill was the only Indian batter to survive the first phase of the innings but was deceived by a straightforward delivery from Sikandar Raza. The Indian skipper had his worst fielders in hot spots and saw his team give a few too many runs at the death.
Ruturaj Gaikwad: 2/10
Gaikwad's struggles outside the off in the powerplay continued as he tentatively poked at one to be caught at slip. He really needs to sort that part of his game out.
Riyan Parag: 3/10
Parag played a terribly loose shot on a pitch that had some extra bounce, only to find a fielder. It was a poor decision from the debutant.
Rinku Singh: 2/10
Another Indian batter who attempted an injudicious shot to be dismissed, Rinku's troubles against hard lengths came back to haunt him. His dismissal put the Men in Blue in further trouble, and it wasn't the right choice of shot at all.
Dhruv Jurel: 4/10
Jurel lasted 14 balls without much success before spooning a simple catch inside the circle. While his keeping was decent, he couldn't put on another rescue act.
Washington Sundar: 8.5/10
Sundar bowled tight lines and picked up two wickets while conceding just 11 runs in his spell. While his game awareness was lacking in the chase, he registered India's second-highest score and kept them in the hunt.
Ravi Bishnoi: 9.5/10
Bishnoi was simply too good for Zimbabwe as he spun a web around them to pick up four wickets. Two of his four overs were maidens. India would've wanted a bit more from him with the bat.
Avesh Khan: 6/10
Avesh's bowling at the death seemed to lack any clarity as Zimbabwe managed to score 25 runs for the last wicket. He scalped the important wicket of Raza but conceded 29 runs in his four overs.
Avesh also dropped a catch in the deep and was lethargic on the field. And while the fast bowler hoicked a couple of boundaries, he had too much to do.
Khaleel Ahmed: 3/10
Khaleel was a touch unlucky to see a catch go down and a few edges going for boundaries, but he didn't adapt well enough to conditions that didn't have much swing on offer. The left-armer was often too wide with his lines, with his three overs proving terribly expensive.
Mukesh Kumar: 6/10
Mukesh did his bit in the three overs he bowled, although India would've expected more penetration from one of their frontline pacers. He too was poor on the field.