India vs Zimbabwe, 1st ODI highlights: India's 6-wicket win, as it happened

World Champions India take a 1-0 lead in the 5-match series against Zimbabwe with a 6-wicket win in the first ODI in Harare. Catch all the highlights from the India vs Zimbabwe game - as they happened. (Scorecard | Commentary | Match Report | Match in pics)

20:25 (IST) Factoid - Virat Kohli's ODI tons: 5 vs Sri Lanka, 2 vs West Indies, England and Bangladesh, 1 against Pakistan, New Zealand, Australia and Zimbabwe. His Highest vs South Africa is 87 not out.

 

20:20 (IST) Catch all the stats from the 1st ODI between India and Zimbabwe (Read: Virat Kohli fastest to 15 ODI hundreds)

20:05 (IST): QUOTES from the presentation:

 

Virat Kohli: Very happy to get the first win of the series. I am very pleased with the way we played, needed to play percentage cricket. The ball did a lot in the morning and and I think our bowlers did quite well. It was still seaming around when we batted later. To face their skiddy bowlers was a challenge for us. The toss plays a major role here in Harare, we have learnt from our past experience over here. I am happy for Rayudu, he has got a call-up after a long time to play for India and has grabbed his opportunity.

 

Brendan Taylor: First hour was vital for us, we didn't lose any wickets but we could have been a little more proactive. We needed around 270 on the board against a quality side like India. Sikandar Raza played very well, showing good composure despite having hardly played any games. Prosper Utseya was good with the ball. Hopefully next time we can come out, we'll express ourselves a little better.

 

19:55 (IST) Ambati Rayudu, after the win, says, "Just wanted to go out there and enjoy, play the ball on merit. I liked the way Kohli constructed his innings and I just played along with him."

19:45 (IST) FACTOID: Kohli has now become the fastest to reach 15 ODI tons, in terms of innings taken to reach the milestone. Kohli reached 15th ODI hundred in his 106th innings, next best is Saeed Anwar with 143 innings followed by Sourav Ganguly with 144 innings.

19:40 (IST) Fittingly, debutant Ambati Rayudu finishes it in style, coming down the track to leg spinner Mutombodzi and drilling him past extra cover for four. India win by 6 wickets and 31 balls to spare. Rayudu remains not out on 63 and Dinesh Karthik unbeaten on 8. Kohli struck yet another hundred - his 15th - as he and Rayudu added 159 runs for the third wicket, that stand knocked Zimbabwe out of today's contest.

19:35 (IST) New-man Dinesh Karthik hits leg spinner Mutombodzi for four past fine leg, to reduce India's target to less than 10 runs now. India 222/4 (43 overs), need 7 more to win.

 

19:30 (IST) Fourth Wicket: Suresh Raina comes and goes, falls for a duck as he tries to go over cover but finds Sikandar Raza at extra cover. Raina c Raza b Utseya 0 (2b). India 216/4 (41.5 overs), need 13 more to win.

 

19:27 (IST) Third Wicket: Kohli fails to clear long-on, caught by Sibanda off Utseya. Kohli hit 115 from 108 balls with the help of 13 fours and a six.

 

19:19 (IST) Virat Kohli reaches 15th ODI hundred, first vs Zimbabwe. Takes just 102 balls and it seems like an effortless knock, punched with 11 fours so far. India 195 for 2 in 40 overs, needing 34 more from next 10 overs.

 

19:17 (IST) Ambati Rayudu reaches a maiden international fifty on debut, cuts Tendai Chatara past covers for a single and raises his bat to the dressing room.

 

19:07 (IST) Virat Kohli enters the nineties as India need less than 50 runs to win now. India 181/2 in 37 overs, Kohli 90* off 92 and Rayudu 47 off 70. 48 more to win off 13 overs.

 

18:58 (IST) Time for the batting powerplay to start as India are 170 for 2 in 35 overs, needing a further 59 runs from 15 overs. Kohli on 82* and Rayudu on 44*. Tendai Chatara comes in to bowl! Can he break this stand?

18:49 (IST) The 100-run partnership is raised between Kohli and Rayudu, thanks to a four drilled down the ground by Kohli off Sean Williams in the 34th over.

 

18:36 (IST) Kohli keeps the run rate up with a four wide of mid wicket off Kyle Jarvis in the 29th over. Rayudu at the other end has given good support so far, in a partnership of 75 in 96 balls. India 132/2 (29 overs), need 97 more of 126 balls.

 

18:24 (IST) Indian captain Virat Kohli reaches his 24th fifty in ODIs. This is his 1st half-century against the redcaps, in 3 ODIs. He has taken 57 balls for the milestone today, with the help of 6 fours.

 

18:20 (IST) Kohli and Rayudu are playing it sensibly here. Kohli knows they just need to bat out the overs and they'll end up reaching the target before full 50 overs. The partnership between the two has silently moved to 46 in 11 overs. India 103/2 (24 overs).

18:09 (IST) Virat Kohli (34*) and Ambati Rayudu (8*) have added 29 runs for the third wicket. India 86 for 2 after 19 overs, need 144 runs from 31 overs at a required run rate of 4.43 runs per over.

17:55 (IST) As the players take drinks, India are 67 for 2 in 16 overs. Kohli on 24*, Rayudu on 1*. India still need 162 runs from 34 overs at a required run rate of 4.76 runs per over.

 

17:47 (IST) First run in international cricket for Ambati Rayudu as spinner Prosper Utseya comes onto bowl.

 

17:42 (IST) Second Wicket: Rohit Sharma falls to Chigumbura for just 20. The right-arm bowler bowls a teasing line outside off stump and Rohit chases it, only to get a faint edge and Brendan Taylor does the rest behind the stumps. Surprise surprise, Ambati Rayudu the debutant has been sent in at No.4 ahead of Dinesh Karthik and Suresh Raina. India 57/2 (13 overs) in 229-run chase. FACTOID: Rohit Sharma hit 260 runs in 4 ODIs of the tri-nation series involving Sri Lanka, way back in 2010 in Zimbabwe. Rohit had hit two hundreds in that series as India failed to reach the final.

 

17:39 (IST) India reach 50, in the 13th over, thanks to lovely on-drive by Kohli past mid-wicket off Elton Chigumbura.

 

17:30 (IST) Tendai Chatara has been impressive so far, getting the sideways movement away from the right-hander at times. He has gone for just 15 off his 5 overs. Kyl Jarvis the wicket-taker, though has figures of 5-0-24-1. India 40/1 (10 overs), Rohit 11*, Kohli 9*.

 

17:24 (IST) Virat Kohli hits his first four! He lends on this one from Kyle Jarvis and caresses the ball between cover and mid off - a photographer's delight!

 

17:20 (IST) Zimbabwe appeal for a run out and the third umpire has been called for! Kohli was going to the non-striker's end to complete a second run for Rohit as the bowler Chatara removed the bails while Kohli was diving in. The green light comes on and the Indian captain is saved by the dive! India 30/1 (8 overs)

 

17:13 (IST) First Wicket - Shikhar Dhawan caught by Malcolm Waller off Kyle Jarvis. Probably a case of compulsive hook from Dhawan. Jarvis intelligently bowls a bouncer round the body and Dhawan is forced into playing a hook shot which he fails to keep it down. Waller lines himself up coming in from the fine-leg fence and takes a simple catch. Dhawan made 17 off 21 balls (3x4s). Kohli next man in. India 28/1 after 7 overs.

 

17:07 (IST) Back to back fours for Dhawan as he follows up his four of the last ball of the 5th over, with a flick of the hip off Chatara in 6th over past fine-leg.

 

17:04 (IST) Shikhar Dhawan hits his first four - off Kyle Jarvis. Width was on offer for Dhawan and the left-hander latched onto it, drove it uppishly over the covers for four.

 

17:01 (IST): FACTOID - Tendai Larry Chatara, who is opening the bowling for Zimbabwe, is 22 years of age. The right-arm fast bowler was born in Chimanimani on February 28, 1991. He has played two Tests and four ODIs prior to this game and has 4 Test and 6 ODI wickets to his name. He made his international debut in March earlier this year on the tour of West Indies.

 

16:55 (IST) First four of the Indian innings, courtesy a flick down to fine leg by Rohit Sharma. Interestingly, Brendan Taylor has opted for a short fine-leg instead of the traditional man on the boundary. Jarvis bowls on Rohit's pads and it's meat and drink for the right-hander. India 10/0 (3 overs)

 

16:48 (IST) Rohit Sharma gets off the mark straightaway on the first ball, nicely placed to third man for a single. Shikhar DHawan yet to get off the mark.

 

16:43 (IST) So all set for the chase as Rohit Sharma gets ready to face the ball. Kyle Jarvis has the new ball in his hand. 229 to chase!

16:21 (IST) FACTOID: Since 2010, the team chasing has won 11 of the 14 matches at Harare Sports Club. Zimbabwe beat both India and Sri Lanka here in 2010.

16:05 (IST) So Zimbabwe end at 228 for 7 with Elton Chigumbura not out on 43* (34 balls) and Prosper Utseya on 8* (12 balls). Pakistan-born opener Sikandar Raza impressed one and all with his 82. India's best bowler was Amit Mishra, who took 3 for 43. R Vinay Kumar, Shami Ahmed, debutant Unadkat and Suresh Raina took a wicket each. Remember, Jadeja bowled 10 crucial overs for 33 runs, that kept the tight grip on the Zimbabwe scoring rate in the middle overs.

 

15:59 (IST) A four off Unadkat in the 49th over takes Zimbabwe to 223 for 7. Chigumbura is on 41 off 31 balls and needs to make the last over count. A total of 235 on this big outfield could be a handy score.

 

15:52 (IST) Elton Chigumbura strikes Vinay Kumar over mid-wicket for six! He has rocketed to 35 off 25 balls with 5 fours and six so far. Zimbabwe 214/7 (47 overs)

 

15:48 (IST) Seventh Wicket - Tinotenda Mutombodzi is out, caught by Shikhar Dhawan off Vinay Kumar in the 47th over.

 

15:46 (IST) Right-handed Tinotenda Mutombodzi takes Zimbabwe past 200-run mark in the 46th over, with a six over extra cover fence off Amit Mishra.

 

15:35 (IST) Sixth Wicket - Sikandar Raza is bowled by Amit Mishra. A third wicket for Mishra, well deserved for the leggie! Raza goes for a short-arm pull but misses the quicker one by Mishy and is cleaned up. Well played Raza 82 from 112 balls (6x4s, 2x6s). Tinotenda Mutombodzi is the new man. Zimbabwe 180 for 6 (44 overs)

 

15:34 (IST) Chigumbura breaks the shackles somewhat with two fours in the 43rd over, bowled by Shami Ahmed.

15:28 (IST) Ravindra Jadeja bowls a maiden in the 42nd over of the innings. Elton Chigumbura has no answer to the incisive line and lengths of Jadeja. Slowly and steadily the pressure to up the ante is rising on Sikandar Raza, who has played splendidly for his 81* so far.

15:20 (IST): Fifth Wicket - Malcolm Waller bowled by Shami Ahmed. Finally some success for the Bengal medium pacer. He bowls it straight, at good length, and right-handed Waller is beaten all ends up and is bowled. Waller scored 2 off 7 balls. Former skipper and leading all-rounder Elton Chigumbura is the new man. Zimbabwe 166/5 in 40.3 overs.

 

15:13 (IST) Fourth Wicket: Brendan Taylor falls as Jaydev Unadkat picks up his first ODI wicket. Unadkat digs it in short and Taylor goes for his trademark short-arm-pull and is caught by Suresh Raina 10-15 meters inside the deep square leg boundary. Taylor made 12 off 15 balls. Malcolm Waller is the new man in. Zimbabwe 162/4 after 39 overs.

 

15:07 (IST) Sikandar Raza is meaning business here and is taking on R Vinay Kumar big time - a thunderous four over mid off is followed by a lofted on drive over deep mid wicket for six. Zimbabwe reach 150 in the 28th over. It only took 53 balls fro them to reach 150 from 100.

 

14:58 (IST): The first six of the match and series - hit by none other than the best batsman at display so far - Sikandar Raza. Vinay Kumar bowled it full and straight and little did he know that Raza will punch it hard over straight long on for six! 12 runs off the 36th over, Zimbabwe 139/3 (36 overs) - Raza 66*, Brendan Taylor 4*.

 

14:56 (IST) The batting powerplay starts (overs 36-40). R Vinay Kumar, who has so far figures of 5-1-12-0, is back into the attack.

 

14:46 (IST): Third Wicket: Amit Mishra strikes again and Hamilton Masakadza goes. One shot too many for the burly right-hander, who goes for a wild slog and ends up missing it only to see his stumps shattered. Masakadza hit 11 off 12 balls. Brendan Taylor the skipper is the new man. Zimbabwe 119/3 (33.4 overs)

 

14:40 (IST) Sikandar Raza reaches his first fifty in international cricket - from 88 balls. The right-hander hit 4 fours. Zimbabwe 107/2 (32 overs)

 

14:37 (IST): Second WICKET - Suresh Raina cleans up Sean Williams. Masterstroke from Kohli to get the part-time off-spinner a go! Raina bowls a regulation off-break which does not turn much and Williams plays across the line and misses the ball. Williams scored 15 off 29 balls.

14:30 (IST) The 100 is up for the hosts, in the 29th over bowled by Jaydev Unadkat. Sikandar Raza, who is approaching his maiden fifty, has a group of fans called the Raza team currently cheering for him at the Harare Sports Club.

 

14:25 (IST) Sean Williams pulls Shami Ahmed, who is back for a second spell, for a thunderous four over mid wicket. 28 overs gone and Zimbabwe are 95 for 1.

 

14:18 (IST) FACTOID: 26-year-old Sean Williams is one of the most consistent batsmen of Zimbabwe over the last two years. In the 50 ODIs prior to this, he has scored 1289 runs at an average of 32.22 with a best of 78*. He has 13 half-centuries too.

 

14:13 (IST): At the halfway mark, Zimbabwe are 81/1 (25 overs). Sikandar Raza 36*, Sean Williams 4*.

 

14:09 (IST) By sheer bowling experience - Ravindra Jadeja is the senior-most bowler in the current playing XI - with 75 ODIs prior to this one. Next most experienced is R Vinay Kumar with 23 ODIs under his belt, followed by Amit Mishra (15 ODIs).

 

14:05 (IST) Left-hander Sean Williams starts off with a reverse sweep, gets it past backward point for four. Shades of the great Andy Flower in that? Three balls he retries the stroke and misses. Definitely not as sublime as Flower was with that stroke of his! Zimbabwe 76/1 (24 overs)

 

13:58 (IST) 1st Wicket - Amit Mishra strikes and his googly does the trick. Mishra gives this one a lot of air and when it lands, it comes in to right handed Vusi Sibanda and experienced umpire Russell Tiffin raises the finger. Sean Williams is the new man. Zimbawe 72/1 (23 overs).

 

13:50 (IST) DROPPED! Virat Kohli puts down a simple chance at 1st slip after Sikandar Raza got an outside edge off Ravindra Jadeja. Zimbabwe 62/0 (19 overs).

 

13:48 (IST): Amit Mishra bowls his 1st over - batsmen are easily able to find gaps and get three singles in the 18th over.

 

13:41 (IST): Both batsmen on identical 26 now as they have succeeded to keep the Indian bowlers at bay - as far as the wickets are concerned. Last five overs have produced 24 runs for the home team. Zimbabwe 59/0 (17 overs)

 

13:34 (IST): Ravindra Jadeja bowls a faster one and Sikandar Raza gets a thickish outside edge past 1st slip for a four down towards third man. Zimbabwe 48/0 (15 overs).

 

13:26 (IST): Both Sibanda and Raza showing some urgency now, mostly in the running between the wickets. Sikandar Raza swept Ravindra Jadeja for four past the long leg fence in the 13th over. The bottom-line - India yet to break this opening partnership.

 

13:22 (IST) Sibanda upper cuts Unadkat for four over backward point. The batsman jumped to get on top of the ball and had his feet off the ground when he executed the acrobatic stroke, about a meter above a lunging Ravindra Jadeja at point. Zimbabwe 35/0 (12 overs).

 

13:19 (IST): Spin for the first time and it's not Amit Mishra - it's Ravindra Jadeja, who does well to not give away free runs -  just a single from his 1st over. Zimbabwe 28/0 (11 overs).

 

13:13 (IST) Debutant Jaydev Unadkat gets his first chance with the white ball - in the 10th over - replacing Shami Ahmed. And, he does a decent job -  maiden to start with.

 

13:06 (IST) First four for Sibanda - drills it down towards mid off for four off Shami Ahmed. Zimbabwe 23/0 (8 overs).

 

13:00 (IST) First enterprising stroke from Sibanda and he gets three runs for it. The right-hander finds the gap between cover and backward point and Ravindra Jadeja stops the ball inches from the boundary ropes.

 

12:52 (IST) FACTOID: Zimbabwe opening batsman Sikandar Raza Butt was born on April 24, 1986 in Sialkot, Pakistan. He is 27 years of age and made his international debut against Bangladesh in May, earlier this year. He is an occasional right-arm off break and medium fast bowler.

 

12:48 (IST) First boundary of the series - thanks to Sikandar Raza, who pushes a full and swinging ball from Shami Ahmed wide of mid on for four. Zimbabwe 7/0 (4 overs)

 

12:41 (IST) Like Vinay Kumar, Shami Ahmed is also getting movement away from the two right-handed batsmen. First run for Zimbabwe comes from the blade of Raza, who gets a thickish outside edge to third man. Zimbabwe 1/0 in 2 overs.

 

12:37 (IST) So a maiden to start with for India and Vinay Kumar. Mohd Shami Ahmed will take the other new ball - into bowl to Sikandar Raza.

 

12:33 (IST) Regulation start by Vinay Kumar, getting little bit of sideways movement away from the batsman Sibanda. Conventional field is set - two slips, a backward point, cover, mid off, third man on the off side. Square leg, mid on and fine leg on the on side.

12:29 (IST) So Sikandar Raza and Vusi Sibanda come out to open the batting for Zimbabwe. R Vinay Kumar will open the bowling for India. All set for the start of the first ODI. Here we go...

12:17 (IST): Playing XIs -

India: Dhawan, Sharma, Kohli, Karthik, Raina, Rayudu, Jadeja, Mishra, Mohammed Shami, Vinay Kumar, Unadkat

Zimbabwe: Masakadza, Sibanda, Sikandar Raza, Taylor, Williams, Waller, Chigumbura, Mutombodzi, Utseya, Jarvis, Chatara

12:11 (IST): Ambati Rayudu makes his long-awaited playing debut for India. Jaydev Unadkat is also making his ODI debut. Remember the left-arm seamer has played one Test match against South Africa in 2010.

12:04 (IST): TOSS - Virat Kohli calls correctly and India will bowl versus the Brendan Taylor-led Zimbabwe.


12:02 (IST): Looks like Ambati Rayudu will be making his ODI debut. He has just received his cap.

11:46 (IST): Remember it's winter in Zimbabwe and pitches in Harare and Bulawayo are expected to favour spin over seam. The groundstaff have left some grass on the Harare wicket and the new ball bowlers will get some purchase with the new ball.

11:15 (IST): One member of the bowling contingent looking to impress is Mohit Sharma. The medium-pacer has indicated that he is raring to play for India. Mohit came into the spotlight picking up 20 wickets in 15 games for Chennai Super Kings in season 6 of the Indian Premier League.

10:58 (IST): India and Zimbabwe have played each other 51 times in one-day internationals. India have won 39 times, Zimbabwe 10 with 2 matches ending in a tie. Between March 16, 2002 and September 4, 2005, India won ten games in succession - their best sequence against the African side.

10:44 (IST): The visitors were in a jovial mood after landing in Zimbabwe on Monday. The young Indian side had an enjoyable practice session where a lot of the boys indulged in a game of football.

10:25 (IST): From skipper Brendan Taylor to the dangerous Hamilton Masakadza, Zimbabwe have quite a few players to watch out for. Here are a few images of the African nation's most exciting talents.

10:19 (IST): India will not be taking the series for granted though. The last time the current world champions toured the African nation, they were left stunned.

09:59 (IST): Virat Kohli oozes confidence. The captain of the Indian side during this series has said that the players are looking to play in a relaxed mood after a "hectic" but successful two months of cricket.

09:46 (IST): Andy Waller is a name that might not be familiar to many. He is the current Zimbabwe coach, after taking over from caretaker Steve Mangongo. This will be the former Zimbabwe Test and ODI player's first assignment in charge of the team. He doesn't seem too confident however and believes that even one victory in the five ODIs will represent a good result for the hosts.

09:25 (IST): The two squads in full -

Zimbabwe: Brendan Taylor, Tendai Chatara, Elton Chigumbura, Michael Chinouya, Graeme Cremer, Kyle Jarvis, Timycen Maruma, Hamilton Masakadza, Natsai Mushangwe, Tinotenda Mutombodzi, Ray Price, Vusi Sibanda, Sikandar Raza, Prosper Utseya, Brian Vitori, Malcolm Waller, Sean Williams

India: Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, Amit Mishra, Mohammed Shami, Parvez Rasool, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Mohit Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Jaydev Unadkat, Vinay Kumar

09:15 (IST): We are under three hours away from the toss at the Harare Sports Club. As the teams arrive at the stadium, we preview the first match of this intriguing contest.

09:03 (IST): India may be missing some key players (especially bowlers) but this series is an audition for the likes of Mohit Sharma, Parvez Rasool, Jaydev Unadkat and Vinay Kumar.

09:00 (IST): It's David vs Goliath as the world champions India travel to Zimbabwe for a five-match ODI series which begins in Harare today. Despite the absence of MS Dhoni and a few senior bowlers, India are odds-on favourites to complete a whitewash.