Bulawayo: A merciless India maintained their stranglehold over minnows Zimbabwe as they cruised to a resounding nine-wicket win in the fourth ODI to extend their lead to 4-0 in the five-match series on Thursday.
Opting to field after winning the toss, India bowled out Zimbabwe for a paltry 144, and then chased down the target with 115 balls remaining here.
Elton Chigumbura top-scored for the hosts with an unbeaten 50.
For India, leg-spinner Amit Mishra scalped three wickets for 25 runs, while debutant Mohit Sharma (2/26) and Ravindra Jadeja (2/28) picked up two apiece. Mohammed Shami and Jaydev Unadkat also accounted for one wicket each.
Rohit Sharma (64 not out) and Suresh Raina (65 not out) were the two main contributors with the bat as the visitors extended Zimbabwe’s winless run.
Raina struck six fours during his 71-ball knock while Rohit found the fence five times and cleared it once during his 90-ball innings, which saw him return to some form after a run of low scores in the series.
Chasing a small total, India suffered an early blow as they lost debutant Cheteshwar Pujara with the score on 23-1.
The 25-year-old was bowled by Tendai Chatara while trying to go for a drive to an incoming delivery only to see his leg-stump getting uprooted. (PTI)
Brief scores:
Zim: 144-10, 42.4 overs (E Chigumbura 50*; A Mishra 3-25, M Sharma 2-26, R Jadeja 2-28)
Ind: 145-1, 30.5 overs (S Raina 65*, R Sharma 64*; T Chatara 1-31)
