Samson, Mukesh fire India to 42-run win over Zimbabwe in 5th T20I, bag series 4-1
Harare, Jul 14: Sanju Samson’s well-crafted fifty and Mukesh Kumar’s disciplined spell helped India wind up their Zimbabwe tour with a comprehensive 42-run victory in the fifth and final T20I here on Sunday.
With this win, India clinched the series 4-1.
Samson’s (58, 45b) was central to India’s healthy 167 for six along with Shivam Dube’s flashy 26 (12b).
Then the India bowlers led by Mukesh (4/22), Shivam Dube (2/25) and Washington Sundar (1/7) did their job, bundling out Zimbabwe for 125 in 18.3 overs.
After the early dismissal of Wessly Madhevere, who dragged the third ball of the first over by pacer Mukesh onto his stumps, and Brian Bennett, the pair of Tadiwanashe Marumani (27) and Dion Myers (34) added 44 runs for the third wicket to keep the hosts in the hunt.
Marumani’s switch-hit four off leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, who went for a few runs in this match, was quite stunning in its execution.
But such shots were few and far between from the Zimbabwe batters.
Marumani went for a sweep shot against Washington but missed the line altogether as the ball crashed on to his upper torso to get adjudged as leg-before.
Dube tailed a shuffling Myers with a quicker delivery onto his body, and the Zimbabwe batter merely chipped the ball to Abhishek Sharma at short third man.
The final nail on their hope was the run out of skipper Sikandar Raza (8), which came in a cartwheel of four wickets for nine runs.
Mukesh, who bagged his career-best T20 figure, fittingly ended Zimbabwe innings going through the gate of Richard Ngarava.
Earlier, Samson (1x4, 4x6) and Riyan Parag (22, 24b) added 65 runs for the fourth wicket as India recovered from a middling Power Play in which they scored 44 for three.
Yashasvi Jaiswal (12), who made an unbeaten 93 in the fourth T20I, started the proceedings with two sixes in the first two balls of the innings bowled by Raza.
But in the fourth ball of the same over, Jaiswal played the wrong line to a delivery on the middle and leg stump to get bowled.
Abhishek, who was dropped on 10 by Bennett off Blessing Muzarabani, did not last long, edging the pacer two balls later to Clive Madande behind the wicket.
Skipper Shubman Gill, who received a reprieve on 11, was never in his fluent self and smashed left-arm seamer Ngarava straight into the hands of Raza in the deep.
At 44 for three, India needed a partnership to steady the innings. Samson and Parag provided just that.
Their alliance was all about prudence than theatrics, choosing the correct delivery to punish.
It was the right approach too considering the pitch was not precisely a belter as it was in the previous two matches, offering a hint of turn.
However, Samson showed his aggressive side when the opportunity presented itself.
He biffed leg-spinner Brandon Mavuto for two sixes in a row and the second shot was a little marvel.
Mavuto angled the ball into Samson’s leg-stump, but the right-hander gave himself enough space to carve that over extra cover for a maximum.
Samson brought up his fifty in 39 balls, his second in T20Is, but Parag departed as India were looking for some late acceleration.
The right-hander perished to Mavuto while looking to clear the fence, and Samson too could not carry on till the end of the innings.
He took on Muzarabani, the most impressive among home side bowlers, but ended up giving a catch to tumbling Marumani.
However, the tourists found some late steam through Dube’s fireworks.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
2 men dragged for 300 metres by truck in Agra; locals save their lives
Agra, Dec 23: A truck driver dragged two people for about 300 metres in Agra under his vehicle, police on Monday said.
Some locals forced the driver to stop the truck and extricated the men from under the vehicle.
Police arrested the driver and seized the truck.
The two men, both residents of Nunhai in Agra, were going towards Rambagh from Waterworks when they met with an accident around 11 pm Sunday.
The driver, instead of stopping the truck sped up, trapping both of them underneath, police said.
"In the accident, two youths were dragged by a canter driver for about 300 metres. Later, some residents saved the youths by stopping the driver using force," Chhatta Police Station Inspector Pramod Kumar told PTI.
"The youths were sent for treatment at a nearby hospital and are still being treated, but are in stable condition. The youths were from Agra. The canter driver was arrested and the canter seized after the incident," he said.
A video of the incident that surfaced on social media showed the men shouting for help.
The video was purported to have been shot by a person passing by on a two-wheeler.
“पिछली पोस्ट में वीडियो में युवकों को मोटर साइकल सहित ट्रक वाला कई मीटर तक घसीटता हुआ ले जाता गया देखा था,
— Umashankar Singh उमाशंकर सिंह (@umashankarsingh) December 23, 2024
अब जनता द्वारा उस ट्रक ड्राइवर की ठुकाई पिटाई का समारोह देखिए।”#Agra@madanjournalist
pic.twitter.com/Qh5ncyWtEa
HORRIFYING!
— Sanjay Kishore (@saintkishore) December 23, 2024
In Agra, a truck driver dragged two men for 300 meters. Locals intervened, stopping the truck and saving the men. Both are stable but continue receiving treatment. The driver has been arrested and the truck seized.
pic.twitter.com/1ply5wemfX
