Rahul's full circle in seven days

In the sixth over of Zimbabwe's innings, Jaydev Unadkat landed a good-length delivery on middle stump, but the ball jagged back in prodigiously and sprung off the pitch as it darted to Richmond Mutumbami, who shaped for a prod into the cover region. Did the ball hit a crack or the seam? Mutumbami wasn't bothered because it thudded into his right hip, near the solar plexus, to leave him winded. Writhing in pain, Mutumbami hobbled off the field, having faced only four balls. He did not return to keep wicket, either.

In the first ODI against Zimbabwe, KL Rahul, on debut, struck an unbeaten 100 to help India take a 1-0 lead. One week later, Rahul was taking guard on his T20 debut. Chasing 171, Donald Tiripano's first ball was a full outside off. Rahul tried to open his bat-face, attempting a dab to third man. Instead, the ball swerved back enough to take Rahul's inside edge and hit the stumps. Rahul chopped on for a golden duck.

Elton Chigumbura had sparked Zimbabwe's innings with a sensational display of clean six-hitting. Bowling the penultimate over of the innings, debutant Unadkat missed his length. He erred by pushing one full on middle stump; Chigumbura would not have preferred it anywhere else. He cleared his front foot and smashed it over long-on. So clean was the hit that the ball landed on the roof and bounced out of the ground. Unadkat leaked 21 runs in that over and returned figures of 4-0-43-0.

The last time MS Dhoni batted, he blitzed 23 off the last over of Axar Patel to seal a tense win in Rising Pune Supergiants' last game of IPL 2016. In the first T20 against Zimbabwe at Harare, both combined with the bat to bring the equation down to 8 off 6 balls. Neville Madziva, bowling the last over, did what Axar couldn't earlier, by executing wide yorkers to keep Dhoni quiet. He also had Axar caught at long-off to help deliver Zimbabwe's two-run win.