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Leg-spinner Amit Mishra notched up a career-best six-wicket haul as Indian bowlers once again ripped through Zimbabwe, dismissing them for a paltry 163 in the fifth and final cricket one-dayer between the two sides here on Saturday.
Opting to bowl in chilly conditions, the Indians had the home team on the mat from the very first over. Sean Williams (51) was the only Zimbabwean batsman to put up a semblance of fight before the home team’s innings folded in 39.5 overs.
In reply, India was 43/1 in six overs which were bowled before the innings break. Ajinkya Rahane (7) and Shikhar Dhawan (34) were at the crease for the visitors.
India has already pocketed the five-match series, having won all the earlier four matches.
Mishra was the top wicket-taker for the visiting side with six for 48 in 8.5 overs. Mishra also achieved a record in the process. With 18 wickets in the series, he equalled Javagal Srinath’s record for most wickets in a bilateral series.
Srinath took 18 in seven games in New Zealand in 2002-03, while Mishra has taken 18 in five games here.
The collapse started pretty early for Zimbabwe with opener Vusi Sibanda (5) getting caught behind the stumps by Dinesh Karthik off Jaydev Unadkat in the fourth over.
His partner Hamilton Masakadza did stay for a while and raised hopes of anchoring the innings before Ravindra Jadeja rattled his stumps. Masakadza struck a 46-ball 32 which included four boundaries.
Next man in skipper, Brendan Taylor, departed without troubling the scorer but consumed 11 balls in the process.
He was caught by Suresh Raina at second slip while trying to have a go at Mohit Sharma.
Zimbabwean batsmen’s parade back to pavilion continued before Williams tried his bit to stage a fightback. In his 65-ball knock, Williams picked up six boundaries, giving his teammates a lesson in how to deal with the conditions.
But Mishra brought an end to Williams’ stiff resistance when the batsman tried to sweep on one knee but ended up gloving it to the first slip.
Mishra had earlier taken the crucial wicket of all-rounder Elton Chigumbura (17) who failed to replicate his half-century performance from the previous match.
Kyle Jarvis (12 not out) and Natsai M’shangwe (16) did their bit to delay the inevitable but the Indians proved simply unstoppable.
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