Clinical India blows away hapless Zimbabwe.
The 3 match ODI Series began with similar expectations. Predicting the result was obvious but what remained in question was the margin.
The Indian team under a "new" captain in Kl Rahul demolished the hosts by 10 wickets at Harare.
With this victory records continue to tumble as India started the series with a bang.
Let us have a look at the numbers below:
192*: The duo of Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill stitched an unbeaten 192 runs partnership against Zimbabwe for the opening wicket. Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly hold the record with 197 runs which was also against Zimbabwe in Sharjah in 1998.
185: Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill's unbeaten 192 run stand comprised of 185 deliveries. This was the highest number of balls faced by two opening batsmen in an unbeaten stand.
70: Richard Ngarava and Brad Evans recorded a 70-run stand for the ninth wicket in the First ODI. This is Zimbabwe’s highest ninth-wicket stand against India.
22: With a thumping 10 wicket victory over Zimbabwe, Kl Rahul became the 22nd Indian captain to win an ODI as a skipper. Ironically this was Kl Rahul's first win as a skipper after his shaky captaincy debut against South Africa earlier.
19: With an unbeaten 81, Shikhar Dhawan becomes the highest run getter for India in ODIs in 2022 (469 runs in 11 Innings). He is also India's sole representative in top 20 Highest Run scorers in ODIs in the year and is currently at 19th position.
13*: With the victory at Harare, India registered its highest ODI streak with 13 victories against Zimbabwe. This is the longest victory streak of India against any other side eclipsing previous best of 12 against Bangladesh. The last time Zimbabwe won an ODI against India was way back in 2010.
8: The 10 wicket victory against Zimbabwe was India's 8th 10 wicket victory. The Men in Blue have achieved this feat thrice against Zimbabwe, the highest against any side.
3: Shubman Gill is in the form of his life. The youngster had a wonderful start to his ODI career where he averages 67.2 in the 7 ODIs he has played so far. This was also his 3rd 50 plus score in his last 4 Innings.
2: Taking a cue from the above milestone, this was India's second 10 wicket victory in a calendar year. India defeated England by 10 wickets at the Oval in 2022. Only New Zealand (2 times) and West Indies have been the two sides to achieve this feat in ODI Cricket History.
1: The 192 runs opening stand between India and Zimbabwe was India's highest unbeaten partnership against Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe.