IND vs ZIM 2nd T20I: Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma fire India to series win

Putting the bitter memories of their disastrous white-ball tour of Ireland and England behind them, India produced a dominant performance with bat and ball to clinch their first series win under new T20 captain Shreyas Iyer by crushing a hapless Zimbabwe by 90 runs in the second T20I at the Harare Sports Club on Saturday.

India have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series after following up their seven-wicket win in the opener with another emphatic victory. The last T20I of the series will be played today.

After a disappointing tour of UK, the left-handed duo of wicketkeeperbatter Ishan Kishan (81 off 44 balls; 9×4, 2×6) and vice-captain Tilak Varma (60 not out off 29; 5×4, 3×6) smashed blistering half-centuries to propel India to 219/5. The visitors then bowled Zimbabwe out for 129 in 17.5 overs.

Making an impressive T20I debut after replacing Ashok Sharma, Vidarbha’s Yash Thakur claimed 2-30. He snapped the key wicket of Zimbabwe’s top scorer Brian Bennett (32 off 19; 3×4, 3×6). Prince Yadav (2-10) continued his impressive series before limping off the field after bowling just 1.2 overs.

Part-time left-arm spinner Abhishek Sharma (3-17) then cleaned up the tail to complete a dominant Indian performance.

Asked to bat first, India lost their explosive opening pair of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (20 off 9; 3×4, 1×6) and Abhishek (8 off 8; 2×4) with only 29 on the board. Kishan then added 66 in 42 balls for the third wicket with skipper Shreyas Iyer (25 off 20; 4×4), before sharing a whirlwind 94-run stand in just 44 balls with Tilak for the fourth wicket to lift India to an imposing total.

The pair came together at 95 for three in the 10th over after Iyer was caught at backward point by Brad Evans off Brian Bennett. They immediately shifted gears, plundering 77 runs in just 30 balls through the middle overs. From 111 for three in the 12th over, India surged to 188 for three by the end of the 17th, with the lefthanded pair taking apart the Zimbabwe attack, including 21 runs off the 15th over bowled by captain Sikandar Raza (0-47).

India thus equalled their own record for the most 200-plus totals in a calendar year. This was their ninth T20I score of 200 or more in 2026, matching the mark they set in 2024.

Brief scores: India 219/5 in 20 overs (I Kishan 81, T Varma 60 not out; B Muzarabani 1/36) beat Zimbabwe 129 all out in 17.5 overs (B Bennett 32; Y Thakur 2/30, P Yadav 2/10, A Sharma 3/17) by 90 runs.