Zimbabwe stun India by 2 runs in 1st T20I

Harare, June 18 

India suffered a shocking two-run defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe as they failed to chase down a tricky target in the first T20 International here today.

Chasing a target of 171, India were restricted to 168/6 with seamer Neville Madziva bowling a brilliant last over to give the hosts a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

After a 3-0 cakewalk in the preceding ODI series, India were brought down to earth by this embarrassing defeat in which captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s reputation as a finisher again took a beating.

Needing only 8 off the final over, Axar Patel (18 off 9 balls) holed out to mid-off on the second delivery.

Surprisingly, Dhoni, who couldn’t connect a single big shot during his sedate 19 off 17 balls, then took single to expose new-comer Rishi Dhawan. The Himachal Pradesh player wasted two deliveries before taking a single.

Needing a four off the last delivery, Dhoni could only hit another brilliant delivery from Madziva for a single as the few hundreds of home supporters were ecstatic in joy. 

Elton Chigumbura was named the Man of the Match for  his unbeaten 26-ball 54. The second T20I will be played on Monday. — PTI

Brief scores: Zimbabwe 170/6 (Chigumbura 54*, Waller 30; Bumrah 2/24); India: 168/6 (Pandey 48, Chibhabha 2/13).