ZIM vs IND 2022: 3 milestones that were created during India's thumping 10-wicket win over Zimbabwe

Deepak Chahar shone with the ball in India's win over Zimbabwe in the 1st ODI

India streamrolled past hosts Zimbabwe to seal the series-opener with a resounding 10-wicket victory in Harare on Thursday (August 18).

The Indian openers maintained their consistency and dominated the opposition bowling attack after the bowlers, led by Deepak Chahar, left Zimbabwe's batting in tatters.

After KL Rahul opted to bowl first, the pacers exploited the swinging conditions and ran through the Zimbabwe batters. A 70-run partnership between Brad Evans and Richard Ngavara did give the hosts a glimmer of hope for the hosts, but they were restricted to just 189 in 40.3 overs.

Chahar (3 for 27), Prasidh Krishna (3 for 50), and Axar Patel (3 for 24) all snared three scalps each while Mohammed Siraj mustered a solitary wicket.

India chased down the target of 190 with utmost ease inside 31 overs without losing a wicket. Both Shikhar Dhawan (81*) and Shubman Gill (82*) played some beautiful strokes to take their side over the ropes.

Zimbabwe, who came riding on a confident victory against Bangladesh, seemed clueless even against a second-string Indian line-up. Deepak Chahar grabbed the Player of the Match award for his explosive opening spell.

The one-sided game saw several milestones created by India. For starters, this was India's second ODI win by a 10-wicket margin in 2022. Earlier, they beat England by 10 wickets at the Oval. This is the first year that they have won two ODIs by this margin.

On that note, let's take a look at three other milestones that were created during India's comfortable win against Zimbabwe in the first ODI.

#3 KL Rahul's first ODI win as captain

First win for KL Rahul as an Indian captain. https://t.co/9Hfkan9kcA

KL Rahul marked his return to international cricket with a splendid win as a leader of the Indian team. After his difficult start as captain in South Africa earlier this year, the Karnataka-born player registered his first ever ODI win as the Indian skipper.

While he didn't have much to do in the game, Rahul rotated his bowlers nicely and placed the right fielders in the right positions as well. With this commanding victory under his belt, KL Rahul became only the 22nd Indian to win an ODI as a skipper.

#2 Highest partnership for India in Zimbabwe

Shubman Gill and Shikhar Dhawan remained unbeaten in the 1st ODI [Pic Credit: BCCI]

The left-right combination of Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill has been fruitful so far. Following their vital opening stands in West Indies, the pair looked in ominous touch against Zimbabwe.

Dhawan and Gill remained unbeaten on 81* and 82*, respectively, and their 192-run stand took the tourists home quite comfortably. Interestingly, their match-winning partnership of 192 became the highest-ever partnership for India in ODIs in Zimbabwe.

The previous best partnership for India in Zimbabwe was shared by Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid when the duo piled up 180 runs in 1998. Dhawan and Gill took India home in 30.5 overs, which is now the longest Indian innings without losing a single wicket in ODIs.

#1 India's best ODI streak against any side

The last time 🇿🇼 defeated 🇮🇳 in an ODI, MS Dhoni was yet to win an ODI World Cup, Virat Kohli hadn't played a single Test & current captain KL Rahul was yet to make his first class debut 😯

Can Zimbabwe put an end to India's streak? 🤔

#CricketTwitter #ZIMvIND #ZIMvsIND https://t.co/h2EASeMcCz

The dominating win added another milestone to the Indian team's illustrious ODI history as the Men in Blue have now recorded their 13th consecutive ODI win against Zimbabwe. It is their longest winning streak over a rival in one-day internationals.

Their previous best streak was against Bangladesh when they defeated them 12 times in a row between 1988 and 2004.

India began their impressive ongoing streak against Zimbabwe when they defeated them 5-0 in 2013. The last time they lost an ODI to Zimbabwe was way back in 2010 when the Chevrons won the encounter by seven wickets in Harare.