RESULT
42nd Match, Group 2 (N), Melbourne, November 06, 2022, ICC Men's T20 World Cup
186/5
(17.2/20 ov, T:187) 115

India won by 71 runs

Player Of The Match
61* (25)
suryakumar-yadav
Cricinfo's MVP
91.95 ptsImpact List
suryakumar-yadav
Updated 06-Nov-2022 • Published 06-Nov-2022

Live Report - India vs Zimbabwe in Melbourne

By Andrew Fidel Fernando

India run through the rest of the order

And now will finish in the top in their group.
Which means they go to Adelaide, to play England on Thursday, in the second semi-final.
Suryakumar Yadav is deservedly player of the match. While I write up the report, read this excellent breakdown of SKY's six-hitting over fine leg, from colleague Hemant Brar.
6
8
5
3

Huge crowd for this match

The game may be one-sided, as Zimbabwe lose their eighth. But more than 82,000 people have turned up to watch this game. Incredible.
(Daniel is joking, by the way.)
4
4
6
6

Burl goes though

Ashwin tosses one right up, and foxes Burl, who was going for a big on-drive. Gets this through bat-and pad, and Zimbabwe's best partnership of the innings (by a huge margin), comes to an end.
2
1
6
6

Raza and Burl build

The required rate is getting up close to 14, but Sikandar Raza and Ryan Burl have put on a superb 50-run partnership.
Burl has been in especially searing boundary-hitting form, utilising the sweep and reverse beautifully against India's spinners.
This partnership is no 58 runs off 33 balls. Burl has 35 off 21, with five fours and a six.
7
4
3
5

Zimbabwe continue to crash

Craig Ervine chips Hardik Pandya back to the bowler, with Pandya backtracking to hold a gently catch over his head in the seventh over.
Then Tony Munyonga gets hit by a Shami yorker, is given out, then reviews, but sees that the ball is crashing into leg.
Overs seven and eight:
1
1
1nb
W
1
4
W
1
2
Unless a miracle is forthcoming, Zimbabwe headed to a big defeat here.
6
6
7
1

Zimbabwe sink further in the powerplay

Craig Ervine gets a couple of fours away, and Sean Williams hits Mohammad Shami for six.
But off the last ball of the powerplay, a thick outside edge off Williams carries to Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Shami has a wicket.
And Zimbabwe are in a dire position, at 29 for 3.
11.36 Zimbabwe's required rate from the last 14 overs.
4
11
4
3

India start brilliantly

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is getting great shape through the air, and has a wicket first ball, as Madhevere follows it and Virat Kohli takes an excellent diving catch at short cover, diving low to his right.
Next over, Arshdeep Singh swings one back through Regis Chakabva's bat and pad and hits timber. Momentum fully with India, and Zimbabwe have a long way to go before they can even be competitive here.
W
2w
W
12
20
12
8

Surya's insane finish

In the last six overs of their innings, India made 83 runs for the loss of just one wicket.
Suryakumar made 69% of those runs.
57 How much SKY made in the last six overs, off 21 balls.
23
33
24
7

Where can you possibly bowl to SKY

Ngarava is stacking the offside and going wide of off. They are decent deliveries - low full tosses. Almost yorkers. But twice in this 20th over, Suryakumar has planted his right leg right across, his foot nearly in line with the wide marker. and nails them over short fine leg for six, and then four.
This angle should not work. It should be practically impossible to get that ball in that direction, with that much power.
But even as I write this, he does this a third time, this time quite fine. He shovels a wide full toss over his left shoulder, and has that ball clear the boundary. Absolutely insane striking from SKY. Truly a masterclass.
7
10
13
4

Suryakumar Yadav sends India screaming to the finish

In his first 19 balls, he's hit 43 runs, hitting two sixes (including one over extra cover), and four fours. There is no more destructive batter in T20 cricket at the moment. He's hit more than 1000 runs this year, and has put India on track for a commanding total here, after a brief slowdown.
The straight drive off Muzarabani in the 19th over was especially delicious.
3
11
3
2

SKY gets moving

India bat deep, and as long as Suryakumar Yadav is there, a big score is on the cards.
He gets Blessing Muzarabani over the keeper (bit of a top edge) over fine leg for four second ball, smokes him down the ground immediately after, and two balls later, Hardik Pandya whips an almost yorker through the legside for four.
Four leg byes to finish means India make 18 off that over.
1
4
4
1
4
4lb
13
16
6
5

Three wickets in three overs

Are Zimbabwe fighting back here? Sure seems like it.
In the last three overs, India have lost three wickets (Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant), for 18 runs.
The catch to remove Pant, by Ryan Burl, is the best of the match so far. Running full tilt to his left from long on, he dives to get both hands to one that was hit exceedingly flat and hard. Wonderful piece of catching.
12th over, bowled by Sean Williams.
1
1
W
2
12th over, bowled by Sikandar Raza.
6
W
1
1
1
14th over, by Williams again.
1
1
1w
W
1w
9
12
12
14

Six and out for KL Rahul

Having made three single-figure scores to start the tournament, KL Rahul completes a second successive fifty off the 34th ball he faces, launching Sikandar Raza into the sightscreen.
It's rare that Raza gets properly taken apart nowadays, though, and the bowler shows why he's been so good this tournament. He slows the next one up a bit, and when Rahul tries to hit this one down the ground, he top-edges it a bit, and long off takes an excellent catch right on the rope.
3
6
2
1

But now Kohli goes

Just as I was finishing up a post about how far ahead Kohli is, he holes out Sean Williams, giving a high catch to Ryan Burl, running in from long off. this is just the second time he's been out this World Cup, in five innings.
123 Tournament top-scorer Kohli's average this World Cup. SR is at 139.
4
1
3
6

Kohli back on top

India are rattling along nicely through the middle overs, with 85 for 1 after 11 (they tend to explode in the second 10).
Kohli, meanwhile, has reclaimed his position atop the tournament runscorer charts, having surpassed Max O' Dowd's tally of 242.
Most of the batters just behind him had played the first (qualifying round).
4
4
4
2

Kohli's looking good already.

Off his first 11 balls, he's sped to 18. He flicked a boundary through fine leg first ball, and whipped one through deep midwicket later. But he's looking out for those singles, and rarely fails to find them.
2 Number of dot balls Kohli played out in his first 11 deliveries.
9
20
11
1

Rohit falls to the pull

India had got their innings humming, Rahul hitting an especially fun six over deep square leg for six.
But Blessing Muzarabani sends a short ball at Rohit, who can do no more with it but bash it straight to the deep square leg fielder, who is a good 10 metres in from the boundary line.
15 Rohit's score, off 13 balls.
12
8
8
17

Tight bowling to begin

Richard Ngarava (turning 24 today), delivers an excellent first over to KL Rahul, bowling a maiden to begin.
Tendai Chatara starts nicely as well, bowling three dot balls to start. But Rohit Sharma pumps him down the ground the boundary to finish the over.
Excellent start nonetheless.
1
1
4
11
19
9
9

India bat and thrown Pant in. Zimbabwe strengthen their spin.

India have chosen to bat, by the way, folks. And as Rishabh Pant has not had a game yet this tournament, he is in for Dinesh Karthik.
Zimbabwe are bringing in left-arm spinner Wellington Masakadza, and offspin-bowling allrounder Tony Munyonga. Milton Shunga and Luke Jongwe make way.
8
10
9
3

Dead rubber, but the report is live

It's almost a dead rubber. India qualified earlier today, when South Africa wen't down to Netherlands, falling at a big-pressure hurdle (get some new material South Africa. This is a decades-old joke.)
Pakistan, who seemed unlikely to qualify at the start of the day, have now snuck into the semi final.
Right now, Pakistan are higher up on the table than India. But if India beat the feisty Zimbabwe side here, they top the table, and face England. If they lose, they take on New Zealand in the semis. This is all that's at stake.
Perhaps the main reason for wanting to top the group, is that India will get an extra day to recover (the second semi is not till Thursday).
There's a bit on the line for Zimbabwe too. If they win here, they will finish inside the top four for the group, which means automatic qualification for the main draw of the T20 World Cup in 2024.
4
11
6
4
Language
English
Win Probability
IND 100%
INDZIM
100%50%100%IND InningsZIM Innings

Over 18 • ZIM 115/10

Tendai Chatara c & b Patel 4 (4b 1x4 0x6 11m) SR: 100
W
India won by 71 runs
Powered by Smart Stats
AskESPNcricinfo Logo
Instant answers to T20 questions
Zimbabwe Innings
<1 / 3>

ICC Men's T20 World Cup

First Round Group A
TEAMMWLPTNRR
SL32140.667
NED3214-0.162
NAM31220.730
UAE3122-1.235
First Round Group B
TEAMMWLPTNRR
ZIM32140.200
IRE32140.105
SCOT31220.304
WI3122-0.563
Group 1
TEAMMWLPTNRR
NZ53172.113
ENG53170.473
AUS5317-0.173
SL5234-0.422
IRE5133-1.615
AFG5032-0.571
Group 2
TEAMMWLPTNRR
IND54181.319
PAK53261.028
SA52250.874
NED5234-0.849
BAN5234-1.176
ZIM5133-1.138