Though Sanju Samson and Mukesh Kumar were the chief contributors in India’s 42-run win over Zimbabwe in the fifth and final game to win series 4-1, Shivam Dube’s contribution in all departments of the game got him the Player of the Match award. At the Harare Sports Club on Sunday, Dube played a handy cameo of 26 off 12 balls to take India’s total to an above-par 167/6. He then took two wickets with his tight medium-pace bowling, and even manufactured an important direct hit to get Sikandar Raza out, to shut the door on Zimbabwe’s chances of winning the game.

“It’s always a special thing to contribute in both departments. Took some wickets, very happy. In T20s, you can struggle but one shot and you can get back. The ground is big, we enjoy playing here, the atmosphere and the people are amazing,” said Dube after the match ended.

Off-spin all-rounder Washington Sundar played only two games in IPL 2024, but got to play all games in Zimbabwe. Some effective bowling from him got Washington the Player of the Series award.

“Good to have finished with a win. After the first game, the conditions were similar to South Africa getting that extra bounce and extra pace. We had enough time to get a lot of information. Lots of takeaways, lot of learnings, lot of confidence going into the Sri Lanka series. We had a lot of success as a team,” he said.

Shubman Gill, who got his first series win as India captain, was in praise of the fightback shown by his team after losing the opening game by 13 runs. “Excellent series. The hunger that we showed after the first loss was phenomenal to watch.”

“Lot of the players had long flights, they weren’t used to the conditions. The way we adapted was remarkable. I have been there (Sri Lanka) once for Asia Cup, looking forward to go there and performing (later this month).”

The hunger to bounce back and adaptive skills helped Indian team pull itself up following the shocking loss in the series opener to win the remaining four matches against Zimbabwe, said skipper Shubman Gill in Harare on Sunday. India suffered an unexpected 13-run loss in the first game of the five-match series as the team fell short of chasing a modest 115-run total on July 6. But the visitors quickly put the disappointment on the back-burner to win the series 4-1.

“I think, the hunger that we showed after losing the first match was fantastic to watch. When we came here, not everyone had a lot of hits in the nets. We weren’t really used to the conditions. The way we adapted (was great),” said Gill following India’s 42-run win in the fifth and final T20I.

‘Player of the Series’ Washington Sundar said the pace and bounce of the pitch here took the Indian batters by surprise initially, which cost them the first match, adding that the series win had given the side a lot of confidence going into the upcoming white-ball series against Sri Lanka.

India will play a six-match away series against the Islanders from July 27, which includes three T20Is and an equal number of ODIs.

“Good to finish with a win. I felt after the first game that the condition were very similar to South Africa, with extra speed and extra bounce. Lots of takeaways, lots of learnings, a lot of confidence going into the Sri Lanka series,” said Sundar.

Young Riyan Parag (22 runs), who was involved in a 65-run partnership with Sanju Samson when the chips were down on Sunday, said the series opener made the team introspect its strategy.

“After the first game everyone woke up, and it was a clinical performance. Enjoyed it to the max,” he noted.