India vs Zimbabwe: Rahane's men whitewash hosts 3-0 to clinch ODI series

After taking an unassailable 2-0 lead against Zimbabwe, Team India completed a 3-0 whitewash in the three-match One-Day International (ODI) series after beating the hosts by 83 runs in the third and final game at the Harare Sports Club on 14 July.

India's challenge proved too much for the Zimbabweans once again, as the hosts failed to chase the imposing total of 276 runs against the disciplined bowling attack of the visitors. Zimbabwe were bowled out for 193 runs in 42.4 overs.

Chamu Chibhabha, who scored 82 runs, was the lone warrior in Zimbabwe's run-chase. Stuart Binny (3/55) and Mohit Sharma (2/33) were the pick of Indian bowlers in the game.

Earlier, riding on the heroics of Kedar Jadhav, India romped to an imposing total of 276 runs for the loss of five wickets. Jadhav notched up his maiden ODI hundred. He remained unbeaten having scored 105 runs in just 87 balls. Manish Pandey, who made his ODI debut today, also contributed towards India's total with his brisk innings of 71 runs.

India's top run-scorers in the series:

Ambati Rayudu: The 29-year-old cricketer made full use of the tour with some stellar performances in the series. Despite missing the third ODI due to muscle injury, Rayudu emerged as the top-run scorer for India with a total of 165 runs in two games (124*, 41).

Kedar Jadhav: The 30-year-old cricketer struck a career-best 105 runs in the third ODI to secure India's 83-run win over Zimbabwe. The middle-order batsman, who failed to make an impact in the first two games, was the second highest run-scorer for India with 126 runs in the three-match series. His two other scores were 5 and 16.

Stuart Binny: The 31-year-old all-rounder was one of the fine performers in India's second-string team against Zimbabwe. Binny, who smashed 77 runs in the 1st ODI, scored a total of 120 runs for India in the ODI series.

India's top wicket-takers in the series:

Stuart Binny: Apart from his heroics with the bat, the all-rounder justified his selection with the ball as well. Binny, who took six wickets while conceding 151 runs, was the leading wicket-taker for India in the ODI series. His best bowling performance of 3/55 came in the third and final ODI.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar: India's bowling spearhead on the Zimbabwe tour was the second highest wicket-taker for the visitors with his tally of five wickets while conceding 80 runs in the series. His best bowling performance of 4/33 came in the second ODI where he bamboozled the Zimbabwe middle-order to dent their run-chase.

Axar Patel: In the absence of India's frontline spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, Patel made his presence felt with his tally of five wickets while conceding 120 runs in the three-match ODI series. His best bowling performance of 2/39 came in the third and final ODI.

Ist ODI highlights:

India's second-string team survived a scare against the resurgent Zimbabweans in the 1st ODI to post a narrow four-run win. Ambati Rayudu struck a career-best unbeaten 124 runs to rescue India after a top-order collapse and guide the visitors to a competitive total of 255 runs at the loss of six wickets in 50 overs. Coming in to bat at 9/1, Rayudu batted with poise and displayed tremendous maturity as the wickets kept tumbling at the other end. With India losing five wickets for a mere 87 runs, Rayudu and Stuart Binny (77) added 160 runs for the sixth wicket to save the blushes for the hosts. Apart from the duo, skipper Ajinkya Rahane (34) was the only other Indian batsmen to register a double digit score. In reply, Zimbabwe put up a brave fight with skipper Eltom Chigumbura smashing 104 runs. However, the Zimbabwe captain failed to find any support from his teammate only to see his side fall short by four runs.

2nd ODI highlights:

After surviving a scare in the first game, the Indian brigade came back strong to pull of a convincing 62-run win to take an unassailable 2-0 lead against Zimbabwe. Skipper Ajinkya Rahane (63) and Murali Vijay (72) were the top-scorers for India who put up 271 runs after batting first. 1st ODI hero Ambati Rayudu followed up his blistering knock with another crucial innings of 41 runs to boost India's total. In reply, Zimbabwe ran into the swing maestro Bhuvneshwar Kumar who recorded a spell of 4/33 to dent the hosts. Chamu Chibhabha provided the only resistance with his knock of 72 runs as the wickets kept tumbling at the other end. The hosts finally succumbed to India's quality bowling attack and were bowled out for 209 runs in 49 overs.