Harare: A magnificent ton by KL Rahul guided India to a nine-wicket win against Zimbabwe in the first match of the three-match One-Day International (ODI) series at the Harare Sports Club here on Saturday.
Chasing a paltry target of 169, the Indian batsmen hardly broke sweat as they comfortably cruised home in 42.3 overs.
Playing his first ODI, Rahul completed his coveted three-figure landmark with a huge six over deep mid-wicket off seamer Hamilton Masakadza, when there was only two runs required to win the match. Rahul also became the first Indian to score a hundred on ODI debut.
He found an able ally in Ambati Rayudu (62 n.o.) as they added 162 runs in 38 overs for the unbroken second wicket partnership even though the Hyderabadi batsman was not at his fluent best.
When he reached 87, Rahul also became the highest individual scorer on debut eclipsing Robin Uthappa’s 86 against England on his ODI debut in Indore, back in 2006. Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team were in complete control of the proceedings right from the start as the hosts never looked like putting up a fight during the course of the match, once they were put into bat.
After Jasprit Bumrah (4/28), Dhawan Kulkarni (2/42) and Barinder Sran (2/42) made full use of the conditions where there was help for seamers, Rahul-Rayudu pair kept calm as they chased with minimum fuss.
They were effective without being scintillating as they did not play too many adventurous shots during their partnership.
While Rahul hit seven boundaries and a six in his
115-ball innings, a relatively subdued Rayudu picked up during the second half, hitting five boundaries in 120 balls.
Rayudu, who hit his sixth ODI half-century, also completed 1000 ODI runs during his innings, becoming the fifth fastest to do so in 29 innings.
While Rahul was impressive on debut, another debutant Karun Nair (7) could not cash in on the opportunity as he was dismissed cheaply.
With the pitch being a tricky one, the duo needed time before they started playing their shots. The Karnataka lad, who already has two Test hundreds against Australia and Sri Lanka respectively, hit some attractive cover drives as well as square cuts off both seamers and spinners.
Whenever pacer like Tendai Chatara provided width outside the off-stump, Rahul was equal to his task while skipper Graeme Cremer’s leg-breaks were also treated with disdain.
With the target being a small one, building the innings was never a problem as the mediocre bowling attack of the home team hardly proved to be a threat to Rahul and Rayudu.
Read Also: Indian pacers bowl out Zimbabwe for paltry 168
Scoreboard of the first One-Day International (ODI) between India and Zimbabwe:
Zimbabwe
Peter Moor lbw b Sran 3
Chamu Chibhabha b Bumrah 13
Hamilton Masakadza c Dhoni b Kulkarni 14
Craig Ervine c sub (Faiz Fazal) b Patel 21
Vusi Sibanda c Dhoni b Bumrah 5
Sikandar Raza b Sran 23
Elton Chigumbura b Bumrah 41
Richmond Mutumbami c Rahul b Chahal 15
Graeme Cremer b Kulkarni 8
Thisara Chatara c Rayudu b Bumrah 4
Taurai Muzarabani not out 1
Extras (lb 3, w 14, nb 3) 20
Total (all out; 49.5 overs) 168
Fall of wickets: 1-8 (Moor, 1.6 overs), 2-30 (Masakadza, 8.4), 3-47 (Chibhabha, 13.1), 4-69 (Sibanda, 19.2), 5-77 (Ervine, 23.6), 6-115 (Sikandar Raza, 37.3), 7-140 (Mutumbami, 43.3), 8-156 (Cremer, 46.5), 9-167 (Chigumbura, 49.3), 10-168 (Chatara, 49.5).
Bowling
Dhawal Kulkarni 10-1-42-2
Barinder Sran 10-0-42-2
Jasprit Bumrah 9.5-2-28-4
Axar Patel 10-1-26-1
Yuzvendra Chahal 10-1-27-1
India innings
Lokesh Rahul not out 100
Karun Nair c Sikandar Raza b Chatara 7
Ambati Rayudu not out 62
Extras (lb 1, w 3) 4
Total (1 wicket; 42.3 overs) 173
Fall of wickets: 1-11 (Nair, 4.3 overs)
Bowling
Tandai Chatara 7-1-20-1
Taurai Muzarabani 6-0-18-0
Chamu Chibhabha 8-1-14-0
Graeme Cremer 10-0-47-0
Elton Chigumbura 4-0-34-0
Sikandar Raza 5-0-20-0
Hamilton Masakadza 2.3-0-19-0
(With inputs from agencies)
