Indian captain Shreyas Iyer has heaped praise on Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma after the Men in Blue registered a 90-run win against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club, Harare on Saturday. Kishan continued his rich form in 2026, as he scored a brilliant knock of 81 runs off just 44 balls with the help of nine fours and two sixes.

Varma, on the other hand, has been under scrutiny for his low strike rate in the recent past but answered his critics in style. The southpaw scored a majestic knock of 60 runs off just 29 balls with the help of five fours and three sixes.

The left-handed duo added 94 runs off 43 balls for the fourth wicket and played a key role in helping India post 219 runs on the board.

Shreyas Iyer said in the post-match presentation, “Starting with the batting, I think the way Ishan and Tilak played was outstanding. A few of the shots they played were rakanaka (beautiful), and they were really pleasing to the eye. At the start, I felt anything between 180 and 200 would have been a par score, but we ended up getting 220, which was the icing on the cake. So, yeah, brilliant contributions from both of them.”

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe were bowled out for 129 in the run-chase as India came up with a collective bowling performance.

Speaking on bowlers’ performance, Iyer added, Then, with the ball, as usual, the bowlers came in, executed their lines and lengths precisely and bundled them out for 130-odd. I think that basically tells you the story of the game.”

Iyer hinted that there could be some changes to the playing XI in the third game after Prince Yadav suffered an injury after bowling 1.2 overs.

Iyer concluded, “Let’s see. We haven’t decided yet and I haven’t spoken to the coach. Unfortunately, one of our players (Prince) picked up an injury, so there could be a couple of changes.”

The third and final T20I between India and Zimbabwe will take place at Harare on Sunday.