‘Special contribution in both departments’: Shivam Dube says after India’s win over Zimbabwe in fifth T20I

While Sanju Samson and Mukesh Kumar were the main contributors to India’s 42-run win over Zimbabwe in the fifth and final match, winning the series 4-1, it was Shivam Dube who won the Man of the Match award for his contribution in all aspects of the game. Dube’s 26 runs off 12 balls took India to an above-par total of 167/6 at the Harare Sports Club on Sunday. He then took two wickets with his compact medium-pace delivery and even produced an important direct hit to dismiss Sikandar Raza, shutting out Zimbabwe’s chances of winning the match.

“It’s always a special thing to contribute to both departments. It’s great to have taken some wickets. In T20s, you may struggle but with one strike, you can come back. The ground is huge and we love playing here, the atmosphere and crowd are great,” Dube said after the match.

All-round off-spinner Washington Sundar played only two matches in IPL 2024 but played all the matches in Zimbabwe. His excellent bowling earned Washington the Player of the Series award.

“It’s nice to end with a win. After the first game, the situation was similar to that of South Africa, who got extra bounce and pace. We had enough time to get a lot of information. We learnt a lot, learned a lot and are confident going into the Sri Lanka series. We had a lot of success as a team,” he said.

Shubman Gill, who captained India to its first series win, heaped praise on his team for their ability to fight back after losing the first match by 13 runs. “Amazing series. The hunger we showed after the first defeat was amazing.”

“A lot of the players had flown long distances and they weren’t used to the weather there. The way we adapted was outstanding. I’ve been there (Sri Lanka) for the Asia Cup and am looking forward to going there to perform (later this month).”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)