Having rested a few pacers for the trip, the changed coaching staff led by VVS Laxman preferred specialists over all-rounders. It meant batting depth was compromised, but it was still a strong outfit.

🇿🇼 𝐒𝐄 𝐊𝐄𝐇 𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐀 𝐒𝐎𝐎𝐑𝐘𝐀𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈 𝐀𝐀𝐘𝐀 𝐇𝐀𝐈 🥵

𝐑𝐔𝐊𝐄𝐆𝐀 𝐍𝐀𝐇𝐈, 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐆𝐀 😎

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After India chose to bowl first, Mayank – playing his first India game in two years, got off the mark immediately. An exciting talent who had come to the limelight in the IPL, he has spent a considerable time battling injuries. But since the start of the 2026 IPL, with a slightly remodelled action which has not compromised on his pace, he has been showing encouraging signs.

Right through his four overs, he showed impressive consistency. Mostly sticking to back of a length, his pace and bounce troubled the Zimbabweans. He rarely offered width, forcing batsmen on to the backfoot and hurrying them with pace.

It was not just Mayank, Prince Yadav, with his impeccable control of length, showed again that he is a talent worth investing in. With movement on offer, he made the most out of the conditions, getting two wickets like Mayank.

Zimbabwe were rocked early, with the Powerplay yielding only 26 runs for the loss of three wickets. Even when the field spread out, India didn’t take the pedal off, with Ravi Bishnoi too striking early in his spell by trapping Ryan Burl.

No respite

Those wickets meant Zimbabwe’s innings never got the momentum it needed. More importantly for India and Shreyas, they found a few takeaways. In a format where teams have relied on raw pace, India haven’t had the luxury with Jasprit Bumrah being the Man Friday for all seasons. That they have been reluctant to hand a recall to Bhunveshwar Kumar means, for the next T20 World Cup cycle, they are still looking for pace prospects. And in that regard, the likes of Mayank, Ashok Sharma and Prince – who clocked over 140kmph and above through the afternoon – seem a promising bunch to invest in.

Aate hi kaam shuru kar diye 🔥💪

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Mayank, with his history of injuries, seems tailor- made for the format, and can trouble batsmen on all surfaces with pace. Ditto with Ashok. With Gurnoor Brar being seen as a red-ball prospect, it paves the way for India to have a pool of pacers for different formats.

That Zimbabwe ended up with 125/7 was largely down to Wessly Madhevere (39) and Tadiwanashe Marumani (29 not out), who ensured they batted out the 20 overs. In Ireland, despite striking early, India had ended up conceding nearly 100 runs in the last 10 overs. There were no such mistakes in Harare.

With only a modest total to chase, Sooryavanshi did the rest. The conditions were challenging, especially the steep bounce. Even as the likes of Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan showed signs of struggle against short deliveries, Sooryavanhi chose to be brave. Among all the batsmen, he appeared the one who learnt from the mistakes they committed in England, choosing the right shots. When he did that, the fours and sixes flowed, as India took control of the game by the time the Powerplay ended at 66/1.

Once Sooryavanshi perished a ball after bringing up his fifty off 18 deliveries – his showdown against Blessing Muzarabani being the highlight of the knock – India took a bit of time, but eventually reached the target in 13.2 overs to take 1-0 series lead with two matches to play.

Brief scores: Zimbabwe 125/7 in 20 overs (Wessly Madhevere 39, Tadiwanashe Marumani 27 not out; Mayank Yadav 2/18, Prince Yadav 2/19) lost to India 126/3 in 13.2 overs (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 50, Ishan Kishan 35, Shreyas Iyer 27 not out; Blessing Muzarabani 2/26) by seven wickets