File photo of Shubman Gill.© AFP

An inexperienced yet spirited Zimbabwe pulled off an upset of massive proportions when they stunned an Indian team brimming with an array of Next-Gen stars by 13 runs in the first T20I of the five-match series in Harare on Saturday. India, who were recently crowned champions in the T20 World Cup albeit with a different set of players, were expected to trot past an unfancied Zimbabwe and the script followed that line when the hosts were restricted to 115 for nine.

But from there, Zimbabwe wrote their own narrative, reducing India to 28 for four in the Power Play and then eventually bowled them out for 102 in 19.5 overs.

Pacer Tendai Chatara (3/16) and skipper Sikandar Raza (3/25) led the home side bowling with aplomb.

It was India’s first defeat in T20Is in 2024 and first against Zimbabwe in eight years.

The second match of the series is slated on Sunday.

India’s stutter began in the first over itself, losing Abhishek Sharma, one of three T20I debutants along with Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel, for duck.

Sharma’s almighty cross-batted heave off Brian Benett was caught easily by Wellington Masakadza in the outfield.

But what was perceived as an initial scratch soon turned into a deep gash as India kept losing wickets.

Ruturaj Gaikwad (7) could not negate a slightly bouncier offering from pacer Blessing Muzarabani, edging it to Innocent Kaia at the floating first slip.

Soon, pacer Tendai Chatara dealt a double blow to India, dismissing Parag (2) and Rinku Singh (0) in the space of three balls in the fifth over.

Parag’s over-enthusiastic loft over mid-off could not clear substitute Brandon Mavuta, while Rinku did not have the necessary space to execute pull off a climbing-up delivery.

However, skipper Shubman Gill kept India in the chase with a sensible knock (31, 5×4), but Sikandar Raza accounted for his counterpart with a delivery that skidded past his bat to rattle the stumps.

Avesh Khan (16, 12b) and Washington Sundar (27, 34b) added 23 runs for the eighth wicket to take India to 84 but a full-blooded smash off a Masakadza full-toss was accepted by Raza at long-off.

At 84 for eight and then at 86 for nine, the fight was well and truly over.

India needed 16 runs off the last over and despite Washington being there, they could only manage just two runs as Zimbabwe celebrated a famous win with all fervour.

Before their batters faltered, the Indian bowlers led by leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, performed admirably on a pitch that had a hint of extra bounce and sufficient carry.

Bishnoi returned with a career-best 4/13 and received adequate support from off-spinner Washington (2/11) as Zimbabwe struggled to stitch any meaningful partnership.

However, Zimbabwe made a rather brisk start to their innings, reaching 40 for two in the Power Play segment even though their batters were not always convincing.

After the early dismissal of Kaia, who dragged a Mukesh Kumar delivery onto his stumps, Wessly Madhevere (21, 22b) and Bennett (22, 15b) added 34 runs in quick time.

The highlight of their alliance was the fifth over in which they plundered 17 runs off left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed.

Bennett hammered him for two successive boundaries as Zimbabwe seemed to have recovered from the early loss of Kaia.

But the ouster of Bennett by Bishnoi in the sixth over changed the complexion of Zimbabwe’s innings. Bennett could not read Bishnoi’s googly, which also carried three more Zimbabwe batters to their doom later – Madhevere, Muzarabani and Luke Jongwe.

They crawled to 74 for three from there, courtesy the patience of skipper Raza (17, 19b) but lost their way from that point, losing six wickets for 41 runs.

The hosts’ batters seemed to have slipped into a state of panic, evidenced by the dismissal of Jonathan Campbell, son of former Zimbabwe captain Alastair Campbell.

Campbell pushed an Avesh delivery to the covers and called for a single and his partner Dion Myers responded.

But Campbell changed his mind suddenly and stayed back as Myers crossed the crease, forcing the former to walk back.

Their last hope rested on experienced Raza, and he raised some hope, smashing Avesh for a six over the bowler’s head.

But the extra bounce Avesh generated soon did Raza in as his mis-timed pull ended in the hands of Bishnoi in the deep.

Washington joined the party with two wickets in as many balls, jettisoning Myers (23, 22b) and Wellington Masakadza (0) off consecutive balls.

In the process, the Tamil Nadu man also completed 100 wickets in T20s.

Clive Madande’s cameo (29 not out, 25b) helped Zimbabwe go past the 100-run mark and that proved a tad too many for India this day.

India vs Zimbabwe Live Updates: Squads –

India: Shubman Gill(c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel(w), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma, Tushar Deshpande, Harshit Rana

Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Sikandar Raza(c), Johnathan Campbell, Clive Madande(w), Innocent Kaia, Wessly Madhevere, Luke Jongwe, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Tendai Chatara, Brandon Mavuta, Dion Myers, Faraz Akram, Antum Naqvi

Shubman Gill-led Team India takes on Zimbabwe in the first T20I of the five-match series, starting June 6, Saturday. Gill has been handed over the duty to lead a young Indian team after the senior players have been rested for the tour. It is worth noting that Rohit Sharma, India’s former captain in T20Is, called time on his career in the format after team’s 2024 T20 World Cup triumph in Barbados last month. The likes of Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja also quit T20Is, giving more youngsters a chance to hone their skills and shine for India.

Here is what we think could be India’s playing XI in first T20I vs Zimbabwe –

Shubman Gill: The star batter will be opening the batting for India and will be having the added responsibility of captaincy.

Abhishek Sharma: The swashbuckling southpaw has been given his much-needed opportunity. He is set to make his India debut in the first T20I after duly impressing in Indian Premier League 2024.

Ruturaj Gaikwad: A reliable batter Gaikwad is set to bat at number 3 spot for India, confirmed Gill on the eve of the game. Gaikwad is among the most experienced players in the squad.

Riyan Parag: The right-handed middle-order batter could make his India debut in the first T20I. He is known for his hard-hitting abilities.

Rinku Singh: The star finisher missed out on a spot in India’s 2024 T20 World Cup squad. Rinku will now aim to continue doing his job for the team in the format.

Jitesh Sharma (wk): The wicketkeeper-batter has failed to impress in the limited opportunities he has got so far. Jitesh has scored only 100 runs in 9 T20I matches. However, his hard-hitting abilities could see him get an edge over Dhruv Jurel.

Washington Sundar: Another experienced campaigner Washington will be aiming to make an impact with his all-round talent. He is a quality right-arm spinner and can also play handy knocks.

Ravi Bishnoi: The leg-spinner could trouble even the best of batters. He is expected to make things really hard for the Zimbabwe batters.

Khaleel Ahmed: After a splendid IPL 2024 season, the left-arm pacer was added to Team India’s list of reserves for T20 World Cup but he got no opportunity to play.

Avesh Khan: The right-arm pacer is an experienced bowler. With so much of competition in India’s main team, Avesh would be eager to make a case for himself.

Mukesh Kumar: For his pinpoint accuracy and discipliine in bowling, Mukesh could get a chance ahead of Harshit Rana and Tushar Deshpande.