Shubman Gill reacts as Samson and Jaiswal’s arrivals set to give India fresh selection headaches in Zimbabwe series

Abhishek Sharma slammed a sublime century to seal India’s comfortable win over Zimbabwe as Shubman Gill and Co. recorded their first win of the away tour on Sunday. Opener Abhishek made amends after scoring a five-ball duck in the series opener between India and Zimbabwe at Harare. With skipper Shubman perishing for cheap in the powerplay, Abhishek announced his arrival on the big stage by smashing a sensational century.

Abhishek‘s 46-ball century set up Team India’s 100-run win over Zimbabwe in the 2nd T20I of the five-match series at the Harare Sports Club. Reflecting on India’s performance in the recently concluded encounter, skipper Shubman credited Abhishek and Ruturaj Gaikwad for helping India post the match-winning total against Sikandar Raza’s men. Abhishek’s quick-fire century was followed by a sublime 77-run knock from Gaikwad as India posted a gigantic total of 234-2 in 20 overs.

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Shubman lauds Abhishek and Gaikwad

“Very happy, great to be back on the winning note back again. With the way Abhishek and Rutu batted, it was not easy especially in the powerplay, with the ball moving around but Abhi and Rutu built the innings brilliantly. Yesterday, it was more about not being able to handle the pressure, it’s a young side and many of them are new to international exposure,” Gill said.

Fresh selection headaches for India

Hosts Zimbabwe stunned India by registering a 13-run win over the visitors in the series opener. India will be boosted by the arrival of power-hitter Sanju Samson, who has joined the Indian squad for the remainder of the series. ICC T20 World Cup 2024 winners – Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube have been added the Indian squad for the five-match series in Harare.

‘It’s always good to have more options rather than…’

Welcoming the returns of the Indian Premier League (IPL) stars in the Indian camp, Gill asserted that it’s good to have options as the skipper is looking forward to the upcoming games in Harare.“It was actually good to have pressure in the first game and we knew what to expect coming into this game. We have got three matches to go and we are looking forward to them. It’s always good to have more options rather than not having options,” Gill added.

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