Deepak Chahar, who returned to the scene, produced an incisive opening spell as the Indian bowlers dominated the proceedings to bowl out Zimbabwe for a sub-par 189 in the first One Day International here on Thursday. It was a record ninth-wicket stand of 70 runs between Brad Evans (33) and Richard Ngarawa (32) that took Zimbabwe closer to the 200-run mark. After a good six months, Chahar returned to international cricket and it didn’t take him long to find his rhythm on the Harare Sports Club track, which offered a steep bounce. Mild morning conditions aided quality swing bowling.
Chahara, who bowled unchanged for seven overs with opening spell figures of 3/27, was well supported by Mohammed Siraj (1/36) who worked at a brisk pace and played an ideal ‘Test match length’. Prasidh Krishna (3/50) and Axar Patel (3/24) also claimed their share of victims in the middle and lower order, while Kuldeep Yadav (0/36) was restrictive despite being wicketless. None of the Zimbabwean batsmen looked comfortable during those opening overs as Chahar got plenty of deliveries to get back late while some straightened after the pitch.
Opener Innocent Kaia (4 off 20 balls) saw the ball go off the back of the length and was caught by Sanju Samson for the second attempt. His left-arm partner Tadiwanashe Marumani (8 off 22 balls) bowled a full-length delivery that swung late and was easily caught by Samson. Chahar’s best delivery was the one to Wessly Medhevere (5), who looked like drifting on the pads, but took a late deflection to square the right-hander, who was found plumb in front. Once Siraj had Sean Williams caught at first slip by Shikhar Dhawan, there wasn’t much resistance left in the Zimbabwe batsman, although skipper Regis Chakabva (35 off 51 balls) attempted a brief fightback before being bowled by Axar.
