India vs. Zimbabwe: Winners and Losers from Cricket World Cup Match
India confirmed their spot at the top of Pool B with a testing six-wicket victory over Zimbabwe on Saturday.
Zimbabwe batted first and notched up 287 in their 50 overs. Brendan Taylor top-scored with a century in his final match, but overall Zim’s execution was poor.
They will go home quite disappointed, while India can be pretty pleased with the way they have performed and can take heaps of confidence into the quarter-finals.
We’ve picked some winners and losers from the match—add yours in the comments.
Winner: India’s Position on the Log
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India will face Bangladesh in the quarter-finals of the World Cup. While no matches in the knockout rounds are easy, Bangladesh are by far one of the weaker teams who have progressed.
India's consistent performances have ensured that they have a fairly easy passage to get to the semi-finals.
Winner: Suresh Raina
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Suresh Raina has had a decent World Cup so far, and his unbeaten 110 against Zimbabwe showed that he can perform under pressure.
Raina walked to the crease with India in a little bit of trouble at 92-4 but showed composure and aggression in equal measure to help India continue their unbeaten run in the World Cup.
Prior to the match, Raina told the TV crew that he needed to "take his chances" and he sure did on Saturday.
Loser: Zimbabwe’s Fielding
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Misfields and dropped catches cost Zimbabwe dearly in this match.
One particular drop stood out. Hamilton Masakadza made a hash of a fairly straightforward catch at short fine leg when Suresh Raina top-edged Sikandar Raza in the 35th over.
It was a real "what if?" moment as Raina went on to dominate proceedings and help India win the match.
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Winner: Brendan Taylor
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Brendan Taylor bowed out of international cricket with a century to his name. That it came in a World Cup against the defending world champions underscores just how much Zimbabwe will miss him now that he’s decided to take a Kolpak deal with Nottinghamshire.
His 138 off 110 balls was the perfect way to end a career spanning more than a decade and was one of the few highlights of the Zim innings.
Losers: Zimbabwe's Top Order
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Not a single player in Zimbabwe’s top order managed to get into double figures. Chamu Chibhabha, Hamilton Masakadza and Solomon Mire have had a terrible tournament. None of them managed to average over 25.00.
The extra pressure on the middle and lower order has been one of the big downfalls for Zimbabwe in this tournament.
Winners: India’s Bowling Unit
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India's bowlers were impressive, both up front and toward the latter part of the innings.
Taking 10 wickets is always a good sign for a team, but the fact that two bowlers managed to keep their economy rate below 5.00 also helps.
Umesh Yadav and Mohit Sharma average 21.80 and 20.30 in the six games they've played thus far. For a team that was carted all around the park in the tri-series between India, Australia and England just over a month ago, that’s quite a turnaround.
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