Here's the full match report:
Surya special helps India top group, England await in semifinals
Melbourne: Suryakumar Yadav reaffirmed his status as a short-format magician with another magnificent effort as India crushed Zimbabwe by 71 runs here on Sunday to set up a T20 World Cup semifinal date with the mighty England. Surya, who has matched the peerless Virat Kohli stroke-for-stroke in this World Cup, smashed an unbeaten 61 off 25 balls in India's imposing total of 186 for 5. Zimbabwe's batting depth was never enough to surpass that score and they were shot out for 115 in 17.2 overs with Ravichandran Ashwin (3/22) enjoying a good day at the office.
Save Axar Patel (0/36 in 3 overs), all the other Indian bowlers were on target and among wickets in one of the most lopsided games of this global event. Hardik Pandya and Mohammed Shami took two wickets apiece while Arshdeep Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar shared a wicket each.
India finished on top of group 2 and will now play their fourth T20 World Cup semifinal (after 2007, 2014, 2016) against Jos Buttler's England in Adelaide on November 10. If Kohli on October 23 lit up the MCG with a knock for the ages, November 6 resembled a rock-concert where the length of Surya's shadow grew with every passing stroke.
Zimbabwe pacer Blessing Muzarabani, after being hit for a couple of boundaries, had the ball slipped out of this hand on his run-up stride. He was basically shaken and nervous. Indian cricket has seen a lot of supple wrists but malleable ones coupled with brute power are a rarity. Surya is indeed a rare breed.
On Sunday, he reaffirmed his status as world's number one T20 batter with the help of six fours and four sixes. The last five overs yielded as many as 79 runs and bulk of them were scored by the Mumbaikar. The casual ramp shot to guide left-armer Richard Ngarava's full-toss behind third-man, the slog sweep behind square using the pace of the delivery or the imperious inside out loft over extra cover of Tendai Chatara, Surya oozed class with each and every shot.
But certainly, the unforgettable ones were the last over slog sweeps off Ngarava as Surya fetched the deliveries outside the off-stump and deposited them behind deep fine leg. If that was not enough, he finished with a six over fine leg. Zimbabwe's slow bowlers left-arm spinners Wellington Masakadza (0/12 in 2 overs), Sikandar Raza (1/18 in 3 overs) and Sean Williams (2/9 in 2 overs) did a terrific job between overs 7 to 15 as they literally bottled up the peerless Virat Kohli (26 off 25 balls).
But Surya and Hardik Pandya (18 off 18 balls) added 65 in just 5.5 overs to negate the good work done by Craig Ervine's slow bowlers. Blessing Muzarabani (0/50 in 4 overs), Ngarava (1/44 in 4 overs) and Tendai Chatara (0/34 in 4 overs) gave 138 runs in the 12 overs between them.
The pull-shot, which over the years brought a lot of laurels, contributed to Rohit Sharma's (15) downfall once again as he was slightly late to launch into a short ball from Muzarabani and was caught at square leg boundary. Kohli strode in purposefully and the first delivery by Muzarabani was clipped off his legs for a boundary but the classic hold your pose' shot was a short-arm whip of spinner Wellington Masakadza but did get stuck against the Zimbabwean spinners post Powerplay.
Veteran Williams finally got him when the batter came too close to the pitch of the delivery for a lofted drive to be caught at at long-off. Having played a maiden over first up off Richard Ngarava, K L Rahul (51 off 35) finally teed off with a six behind square off the same bowler and since then looked a different player till he completed his second fifty of the competition.
A back-cut off Muzarabani gave him enough confidence before he launched into Ryan Burl's short-pitched deliveries first a six over long-on and the second slog-sweep just fell inside the ropes. A straight third six into the sight screen off a Sikandar Raza long-hop brought his second fifty off 33 deliveries before going for a second one over long-off brought about his downfall. Rishabh Pant (2)'s confidence after being dropped had dipped and it showed as he departed quickly before Surya changed the course of the innings.
SCOREBOARD: India vs Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe Innings:
Wesley Madhevere c Kohli b Bhuvneshwar 0
Craig Ervine c and b Hardik Pandya 13
Regis Chakabva b Arshdeep Singh 0
Sean Williams c Bhuvneshwar b Shami 11
Sikandar Raza c Suryakumar Yadav b Hardik Pandya 34
Tony Munyonga lbw b Shami 5
Ryan Burl b Ashwin 35
Wellington Masakadza c Rohit b Ashwin 1
Richard Ngarava b Ashwin 1
Tendai Chatara c and b Axar 4
Blessing Muzarabani not out 0
Extras: (LB-3, W-7, NB 1) 11
Total: (10 wkts, 17.2 Overs) 115
Fall of Wickets: 0-1, 2-2, 28-3, 31-4, 36-5, 96-6, 104-7, 106-8, 111-9, 115-10.
Bowler: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3-1-11-1, Arshdeep Singh 2-0-9-1, Mohammed Shami 2-0-14-2, Hardik Pandya 3-0-16-2, Ravichandran Ashwin 4-0-22-3, Axar Patel 3.2-0-40-1.
Brief Scores:
India: 186/5 in 20 overs (KL Rahul 51, Suryakumar Yadav 61 not out; Sean Williams 2/9).
Zimbabwe: 115 all out in 17.2 overs (Ryan Burl 35, Sikandar Raza 34; Ravichandran Ashwin 3/22).
India beat Zimbabwe by 71 runs
After 15 Overs
The batting side once cruising well, with Ryan Burl 35 run burst off 22 balls, witnessed tumbling of wickets and there seems to be no comeback for the Zimbabwe team. The bowlers are performing in unison except for an Axar Patel over that went expensive. It's just a matter of time that India finishes on top of Group 2 now, having already made it to the semi-finals after Netherlands beat South Africa.
After 10 Overs
Zimbabwe have struggled so far losing wickets frequently. They lost two wickets until 10 overs in Craig Ervine (13 off 15 balls), the skipper, caught and bowled by Hardik Pandya. And then Shami struck with a full ball that swung late to out lbw Munyonga (5 runs from 4 deliveries).
After powerplay (6 overs)
Zimbabwe didn't get the start they would have liked in their chase of 187 runs, in what has been exhilarating bowling by the Indian fast bowlers. The ball nipped, swung and got enough swing to not only dismiss Zimbabwe batters but has put a complete stop to the run rate. While Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed Wesley Madhevere (0), Arsheep sent Regis Chakabva (0) back to the dressing room with the one that swung inside to the right-handed batter to thrash the stumps. It was Shami's time and he does what he does best, dismissed Sean Williams (11 off 18 balls). Skipper Craig Ervine and Sikandar Raza are on the crease at the moment.
Here's the innings report:
Surya blitzkrieg takes India to 186/5
Suryakumar Yadav reaffirmed his status as world's number one T20 batter with another piece of gem to propel India to 186 for five in their final T20 World Cup group league game against Zimbabwe on Sunday. Surya smashed an unbeaten 55 off 24 balls with the help of six fours and four sixes.
The last five overs yielded as many as 79 runs and bulk of them were scored by the Mumbaikar. The casual ramp shot to guide left-armer Richard Ngarava's full-toss behind third-man, the slog sweep behind square using the pace of the delivery or the imperious inside out loft over extra cover of Tendai Chatara, Surya oozed class with each and every shot.
But certainly, the unforgettable ones were the last over slog sweeps off Ngarava as Surya fetched the deliveries outside the off-stump and deposited them behind deep fine leg. If that was not enough, he finished with a six over fine leg. Zimbabwe's slow bowlers left-arm spinners Wellington Masakadza (0/12 in 2 overs), Sikandar Raza (1/18 in 3 overs) and Sean Williams (2/9 in 2 overs) did a terrific job between overs 7 to 15 as they literally bottled up the peerless Virat Kohli (26 off 25 balls).
But Surya and Hardik Pandya (18 off 18 balls) added 65 in just 5.5 overs to negate the good work done by Craig Ervine's slow bowlers. Blessing Muzarabani (0/50 in 4 overs), Ngarava (1/44 in 4 overs) and Tendai Chatara (0/34 in 4 overs) gave 138 runs in the 12 overs between them.
The pull-shot, which over the years brought a lot of laurels, contributed to Rohit Sharma's (15) downfall once again as he was slightly late to launch into a short ball from Muzarabani and was caught at square leg boundary. Kohli strode in purposefully and the first delivery by Muzarabani was clipped off his legs for a boundary but the classic hold your pose' shot was a short-arm whip of spinner Wellington Masakadza but did get stuck against the Zimbabwean spinners post Powerplay.
Veteran Williams finally got him when the batter came too close to the pitch of the delivery for a lofted drive to be caught at at long-off. Having played a maiden over first up off Richard Ngarava, Rahul finally teed off with a six behind square off the same bowler and since then looked a different player till he completed his second fifty of the competition.
A back-cut off Muzarabani gave him enough confidence before he launched into Ryan Burl's short-pitched deliveries first a six over long-on and the second slog-sweep just fell inside the ropes. A straight third six into the sight screen of a SikandarRaza long-hop brought his second fifty off 33 deliveries before going for a second one over long-off brought about his downfall. Rishabh Pant (2)'s confidence after being dropped had dipped and it showed as he departed quickly before Surya changed the course of the innings.
SCOREBOARD: India vs Zimbabwe
India Innings:
KL Rahul c W Masakadza b Raza 51
Rohit Sharma c W Masakadza b Muzarabani 15
Virat Kohli c Ryan Burl b Sean Williams 26
Suryakumar Yadav not out 61
Rishabh Pant c Ryan Burl b Sean Williams 3
Hardik Pandya c Muzarabani b Ngarava 18
Axar Patel not out 0
Extras: (lb-5, w-6, nb-1) 12
Total: 186/5 in 20 overs
Fall of wickets: 27-1, 87-2, 95-3, 101-4, 166-5
Bowling: Richard Ngarava 4-1-44-1, Tendai Chatara 4-0-34-0, Blessing Muzarabani 4-0-50-1, Wellington Masakadza 2-0-12-0, Ryan Burl 1-0-14-0, Sikandar Raza 3-0-18-1, Sean Williams 2-0-9-2.
Brief Scores:
India: 186/5 in 20 overs (KL Rahul 51, Suryakumar Yadav 61 not out; Sean Williams 2/9).
India finishes off at 186-5. Zimbabwe up next.
At the end of 15 overs
India, in a bid to up the run scoring, lost to wickets in Virat Kohli (26 runs from 25 balls), KL Rahul (51 runs from 35 balls) and Rishabh Pant (3 off 5 balls). Pant particularly who tried to go for a sweep show over mid-off for a six was out by some outstanding fielding by Ryan Burl. Sean Williams took his wicket and he dismissed Virat Kohli too, who also tried to go for a big shot only to perish at long-off.
Hardik Pandya: 5 off 6 balls
Suryakumar Yadav: 3 off 5 balls
At the end of 10 overs
KL Rahul and Virat Kohli have been running the ship brilliantly, especially Rahul who has looked magnificent dispatching the ball for boundaries. It won't be long before Virat decided to up the momentum at we reach half way through the innings.
KL Rahul: 41 runs from 29 balls
Virat Kohli: 22 runs from 18 balls
At the end of powerplay (6 overs)
Indian batters looked circumspect against Zimbabwe bowlers and as they tried to break off, the team lost the wicket of Rohit Sharma, whose miscued pull shot couldn't get the ball the distrance to cross the boundary and got deposited in Masakadza's hands. Muzarabani took the wicket and Rohit got dismissed for 15 runs from 13 deliveries. On the other hand, Rahul, after a maiden in the first over, came up with a glorious pull for six as he looks to stretch his innings further. KL Rahul and Virat Kohli are at the crease at the moment.
Rohit Sharma: 15 runs from 13 balls
KL Rahul: 20 runs from 17 balls
Virat Kohli: 9 runs from 5 balls
Richard Ngarava: 2 overs, Runs conceded - 1, Wicket - 0
Tendai Chatara: 2 overs, Runs 23, Wicket - 0
Blessing Muzarabani: 2 overs, Runs 11, Wicket - 1
Melbourne: India skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and chose to bat against Zimbabwe in their final group match of the T20 World Cup here on Sunday. India made one change, bringing in wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant in place of veteran Dinesh Karthik.
Zimbabwe made two changes, with Wellington Masakadza and Tony Munyonga replacing Milton Shumba and Luke Jongwe. Already through to the semifinals, India need a win to top Group 2.
Teams:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (wk), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh.
Zimbabwe: Craig Ervine (c), Wesley Madhevere, Regis Chakabva (wk), Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Tony Munyonga, Ryan Burl, Tendai Chatara, Richard Ngarava, Wellington Masakadza and Blessing Muzarabani.
