India aims for series win against Zimbabwe as Abhishek Sharma seeks to regain form

By Ananya Rao — 25 July 2026 — 3 min read

India is looking to secure an unassailable 2-0 lead in the T20I series against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club. This follows their recent seven-wicket victory in the series opener, which provided a much-needed confidence boost after a challenging period that included whitewashes by Ireland and England.

While the team aims to build on its momentum, opener Abhishek Sharma is under scrutiny due to a dip in form. Two years ago, Sharma made his international debut at the same venue, scoring a T20I hundred in his second game. However, after starting the England series with scores of 59 and 43, his subsequent returns have been 10, 16, 3, and 1. His performance in Thursday’s opener, an eight-ball 1, suggested a lack of rhythm and confidence.

Abhishek Sharma’s T20I Record Against Zimbabwe

Sharma made his Team India debut in a T20I series against Zimbabwe. After a duck in his debut match, he scored a century in the second game, hitting 100 runs off 47 balls, including seven fours and eight sixes. This effort helped India post 234/2 in Harare and win by 100 runs. Sharma is the only centurion in India-Zimbabwe T20Is.

He is also the second batter, after West Indies player Evin Lewis, to score a ton in his second T20I after a duck on debut. No full-member team batter has taken fewer innings to register their maiden T20I hundred. Other batters with 80-plus scores in this fixture include Brian Bennett (97 in Chennai, 2026) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (93* in Harare, 2024).

Earlier this year, Sharma scored a half-century in the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup match against Zimbabwe in Chennai, making 55 runs off 30 balls with four fours and four sixes. He and Shubman Gill are the only batters with multiple 50-plus scores in India-Zimbabwe T20Is.

Sharma enters the Zimbabwe series with 1,618 runs across 53 T20Is at an average of 32.36, including two centuries and 11 fifties. His strike rate of 190.35 is the best among batters with over 1,000 T20I runs. During the recent series against England, he completed 100 T20I sixes off 785 balls, making him the fastest among Full Member teams to reach this milestone by balls faced.

Team Performance and Emerging Talent

In the opening match, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, a teenage player, scored an 18-ball fifty, becoming the youngest player to achieve a T20I half-century. Sooryavanshi, who faced challenges during the England tour against bowlers like Jofra Archer, performed well against Richard Ngarava and Blessing Muzarabani.

Supported by Ishan Kishan’s 35 runs and an unbeaten 28 from captain Shreyas Iyer, Sooryavanshi helped India chase down the target with more than six overs remaining. Head coach VVS Laxman was reportedly pleased with the performance of India’s pace attack, particularly the return of Mayank Yadav. Yadav, making a comeback after two injury-plagued years, finished with figures of 2 for 18, consistently delivering high speeds, including an opening delivery to Brian Bennett at 150 kmph. Prince Yadav also showed improvement, and debutant Ashok Sharma displayed promise as a fast-bowling option.

With competition for places increasing, a substantial score in Harare would not only help India seal the series but also strengthen Sharma’s position within the evolving T20 setup. Senior opener Sanju Samson, though not on this tour, remains in consideration and is part of India’s squad for the Asian Games later this year.

The second T20I against Zimbabwe is scheduled for Saturday at the Harare Sports Club.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com