Shubman Gill made history in his first T20I series as captain of the Indian men’s cricket team on Sunday, July 14. He became the first Indian skipper to win four T20Is in a series played abroad. India’s 42-run victory in the fifth T20I at Harare Sports Club helped the 24-year-old achieve this milestone.
Appointed captain in the absence of senior players, the Punjab-based cricketer led from the front, scoring 170 runs in five matches. Consequently, under Gill’s leadership, India bounced back from a 13-run defeat in the series opener to secure a convincing 4-1 series win against Sikandar Raza’s Zimbabwe.
Gill, the 14th player to captain India in T20Is, now ranks as the sixth-most successful Indian captain in the format, behind Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, and Suryakumar Yadav.
In the final T20I, Sikandar Raza won the toss and invited India to bat first. India started strong with Yashasvi Jaiswal hitting two sixes on his first two balls. However, quick dismissals of Jaiswal, Abhishek Sharma, and Gill brought Zimbabwe back into the game. Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag then added 65 runs for the fourth wicket, with Samson top-scoring at 58 runs from 45 balls. Samson also became the seventh Indian to hit over 300 sixes in T20s.
Chasing a target of 168, Zimbabwe managed only 125 runs, losing all wickets in 18.3 overs. Mukesh Kumar took four wickets for 22 runs, while Shivam Dube contributed with two wickets and 26 runs from 12 balls. Dube’s all-round performance earned him the Player of the Match award.
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