ZIM vs IND: We bat deep and weren’t nervous, says KL Rahul on India’s top-order wobble against Zimbabwe
ZIM vs IND: India’s top order stumbled a little bit when attempting to chase down a modest target, but skipper KL Rahul insisted that his team was not rattled as it defeated Zimbabwe easily by five wickets in the second ODI to wrap up the series with one game left on Saturday.
India was 97 for 4 at the conclusion of the 14th over, needing 97 to win, and had 24.2 overs remaining when Sanju Samson’s unbeaten 43 off 39 deliveries brought the visitors home.
“We bat deep and it’s good for some of the guys to get time in the middle. We weren’t nervous,” Rahul said at the post-match presentation.
“They (Zimbabwe) have some quality bowlers and they bowled well against Bangladesh. I watched it on the television. The bowlers did come hard, they’re tall and big and strong boys.
“Good challenge for us as batters, but we bat deep so it wasn’t a worry.”
Rahul moved up to the top of the batting order to bat alongside Shikhar Dhawan to start India’s innings, however he was dismissed for one in the second over of the run chase.
“It didn’t work (on the changed batting order), I wanted to get some runs but it didn’t happen. Hopefully in the next game,” he said.
“We’re here to play good cricket and win. It’s a great turnout today, it’s a weekend, and wherever we go across the world we get good support from Indian fans, so thanks to them.”
Sanju Samson, who won the game’s Man of the match award, said it was fun to keep wickets and contribute with the bat.
“Feels good to spend time in the middle. I took three catches but I missed a stumping too; as keepers we’re used to listening to things we didn’t do well,” said Samson, who took three catches and scored an unbeaten 43.
“I really enjoyed keeping and contributing to the win. In this match the fast bowlers picked the length much quicker and I really enjoyed keeping.”
It was the hosts’ second straight defeat. And skipper Regis Chakabva said that his team’s performance with both bat and ball has been lacking.
“We had a really good fight in the field. We’ve struggled to pick early wickets in the last few games and we did that today,” he said.
“We fell short of runs on the board. Our execution lacked a little bit in the end, and we’re looking to score more runs. The bowlers came out charging and they tried to hit their lengths.”
The Zimbabwe Cricket team played a game on Saturday in support of children’s cancer. The home team is giving a six-year-old who also received a signed ball from Sanju Samson $500 and a Zimbabwe jersey.
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