India registered a comfortable victory over Zimbabwe in the second ODI of the three-match series at the Harare Sports Club on Sunday.
Skipper Ajinkya Rahane heaped praise on his bowlers who exploited the conditions well. Harbhajan Singh turned out to be the most economical of them and gave away just 29 runs in 10 overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was at his best as he picked up four wickets in the second ODI on Sunday.
"Wicket was slow early on but got even slower in second innings. We have a good experienced attack with quality spinners who did the job for us. It wasn't easy for batting but we bowled well. Our bowlers were up to the mark, they bowled in right areas and fielding was right up there," Rahane told the reporters at the press conference after the match.
Rahane and Murali Vijay gave India a solid start at the top of the order. They added 112 runs in the first wicket. India lost a bit of momentum during the middle overs, but Stuart Binny helped his side to reach a total of 271 at the end of 50 overs on a slow wicket that was difficult to bat on.
"We were looking for 280-290 but we batted pretty well and partnership between me and (Murali) Vijay was crucial and later Vijay's with Rayudu," Rahane added.
Rahane scored 63 runs and Vijay went on to score 72 runs in the second ODI. One would believe that these two batsmen scored rather slowly, but the wicket was unpredictable. The wicket became even slower during the second innings and made things difficult for the Zimbabwean batsmen.
"It was a great opportunity for me to prove myself. I wasn't getting my flow right but still helped in the opening partnership. The wicket was much better today, a bit on the slower side but we adjusted to it," Vijay told the media after the match on Sunday.
