Zimbabwe on Saturday once again proved that when it comes to the shortest version of the game, they are a side that don't only have the ability to compete, but to even beat the best in the world.
Zimbabwe, outclassed in all three ODIs, pulled off their second successive T20 win over India, defeating the visitors by two runs in a thriller contest here at Harare. With the win the hosts have now gone1-0 up in the three-match T20I series.
Chasing a competitive total of 171, India required four runs of the last ball and it came down to Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to finish the game for his team.
However, Neville Madziva, the 24-year-old right arm medium pacer, bowled a wide slower ball of which Dhoni, jumping across to reach it, managed to score just a run.
Earlier, after being put in to bat, Hamilton Masakadza and Chamu Chibhabha gave Zimbabwe a solid start but both fell in quick succession.
However, Sikandar Raza and Malcolm Waller continued to pile on the runs before the hosts lost three wickets to leave the score at 111-5.
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Elton Chigumbura, the man of the match, came to the rescue and his aggressive innings of 54 not out guided Zimbabwe to a competitive total of 170-6.
Defending the target, Zimbabwe's bowlers held their nerve in the game which was full of twists and turns. India got off to a bad start in their chase and lost three wickets inside the first eight overs before Manish Pandey and Dhoni stitched together a 53-run partnership to get India back on track.
Madziva, however, displayed a perfect execution of Yorkers in the last over and as a result of that, Zimbabwe defeated India by two runs.
In the post match press conference, the Indian captain said that Zimbabwe displayed a better performance in all the departments of the game.
"A lot of credit goes to Zimbabwe today, they batted and bowled well. But we also played good cricket. Though we lost the game and it is quite disappointing, but it was a good learning curve for youngsters, provided they learn," he said.
Dhoni also asserted that the reason that India lost the match was because they lost wickets at crucial junctures, thus providing an opportunity to the hosts to come back.
He also said that the game was about providing opportunity to the youngsters and that's why he did not come to bat at three or four.
"It is not for me. If I had to bat I could easily bat at 3 or 4, but this is opportunity for youngsters to learn. When it comes to the Indian team, we are looking for somebody who can bat down the order because top order looks more or less settled," he said.
The two teams will next face each other on Monday in the next T20.