Jadhav, Binny trigger clean sweep for India

A lot had transpired since India and Zimbabwe played the first ODI five days ago. Zimbabwe, from a point where they nearly handed India an upset in the first game, went downhill in the second, and were eventually shredded in the third. India, on the other hand, from being on the verge of going 0-1 down, completed a well-deserved, if not emphatic series win. If you are to look back at the series, there won't exist even a single element of surprise, for the outcome was always predicted to be 3-0 in favour of India.
On a slow Harare wicket on Tuesday, individual efforts from Kedar Jadhav (105*) and a clinical bowling effort, led by Stuart Binny's 3 for 55 helped India earn a clean sweep. It was a pragmatic performance by the hosts. A target of 277 may have produced a stiffer contest against a tougher batting side, but it was just about enough to topple Zimbabwe in their own backyard. Zimbabwe's chase never quite gathered the momentum it needed, and the hosts fell short of the target by 83 runs.

Zimbabwe needed a significant effort to gun down the highest total of the series. But their innings, despite showing signs of life, couldn't quite take off. They needed to go and five and a half an over, but Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohit Sharma put in credible performances first up tightening the leash on the openers.

Mohit bagged the early wicket of Hamilton Masakadza (7), but it was mostly Bhuvneshwar who kept things tight from his end. Unlike the previous game, he found plenty of away nibble and extracted some surprising bounce off the pitch. He gained extravagant swing in the first ten overs making life difficult for Chamu Chibhabha and Regis Chakabwa.

Their partnership grew steadily and surpassed the 50-run mark. Binny's first two deliveries were mere long-hops - short and wide outside off without much pace, and expectedly, were made to meet the square boundaries. Harbhajan Singh and Axar Patel caused a few nervous moments with close shouts, but the two batsmen rallied on. It was Chibhabha, who did most of the scoring, while Chakabwa was scratchy in his approach. He battled hard for his 43-ball 27, and was eventually cleaned up by Patel.

The man who got Zimbabwe close in the first ODI, skipper Elton Chigumbura could manage just ten runs this time around. Sending him back was Murali Vijay, with his very first ball of the match. Meanwhile, Chibhabha, who had completed his half-century off 76 balls, was joined by Richmond Mutumbami, and with the run-rate creeping up, took the Zimbabwe innings forward. But it felt as if Zimbabwe didn't quite plan the chase as well they would have liked to. During the entire course of their innings, it looked as if they were setting themselves up for a late assault, but that assault never came. All of a sudden, it was too late.

Needing close to six-and-a-half runs at the 35-over mark, Zimbabwe's chase slowly fell apart. Chibhabha went on to make 82, but there was little else that threatened to take the game away from India. Binny and Harbhajan (2 for 35) removed Mutumbami, Chibhabha, Sikandar Raza, Graeme Cremer and Malcolm Waller in a span of 26 runs and 25 balls. Patel returned for his seventh over and had Neville Madziva out stumped to hand India a 3-0 series win.

After being sent in to bat, India overcame a jittery start from their top-order to register 276 for 5. Leading the revival were Jadhav, scoring a maiden century in only his fourth ODI, and Manish Pandey, contributing with a half-century on debut. The pair added 144 runs for the fifth wicket, injecting life into the Indian innings after Zimbabwe had them in all sorts of trouble early on.

Openers Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane initially found the two-paced surface difficult to get away with and Madziva, whose first spell read 6-0-20-2 - with wickets of Rahane and Vijay, only hampered India's plans of an ideal beginning. The fourth-wicket pair of Uthappa and Manoj Tiwary found the proceedings tough and laboured their way to scoring 35 in 11 overs. The period between India's third and fourth boundary lasted six overs.

They were 82 for 4 in 24 overs and reviving the innings was then upto Jadhav and Pandey. At times, their approach looked dour, even dull at various points during their partnership, but the reasoning behind it was sound. Pandey initiated the assault with a straight six off Masakadza in the 28th over, and brought up his maiden half-century off 67 balls. The fifth-wicket stand accounted for 144 runs before Pandey holed out to Sikander Raza for 71, becoming the 12th Indian player to record a fifty on debut.

Jadhav became the aggressor once his partner departed. He was aided by Chigumbura, who spilled a sitter off Cremer in the 41st over. After reaching his fifty off 67 balls, Jadhav launched an all-out assault. He cracked the Tiripano for back-to-back boundaries in the 46th over and took Madziva for three in a row in the 48th. Jadhav reached the landmark with a six in the final over.

Brief Scores: India 276 for 5 (Kedar Jadhav 105 not out, Manish Pandey 71; Neville Madziva 2 for 59) beat Zimbabwe 193 all out (Chamu Chibhabha 82; Stuart Binny 3 for 55) by 83 runs.