India leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi said the team needs to bounce back stronger and return to the field for the second T20I with a fresh mind just a day after suffering an unexpected defeat against an inexperienced Zimbabwe side in Harare. India faltered badly in the chase of 116 and were bowled out for 102 in the first T20I on Saturday. The second match will be played here on Sunday. “We are trying our best and we need to bounce back stronger. We just need to come back tomorrow (Sunday) with a fresh mind for the second match,” said Bishnoi in the post-match press meet.

Bishnoi said India failed to stitch together good partnership and that led to their downfall.

“It was a good game of cricket, but we collapsed, lost continuous wickets. A partnership would have made the game better for us. We could not do that. I think that made the difference,” he said.

“Zimbabwe’s bowling and fielding were really good. They did not allow us to build partnerships,” he added.

The 23-year-old took a career-best 4/13 against the Africans here, and the leg-spinner said he is constantly trying to improve his craft.

“We can learn something from every match. I am trying to learn from every match and get better at what I am doing,” he said.

Bishnoi said it’s time for young players to take Team India forward after the retirement of senior pros such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja.

“It’s time for new players. The senior players are retired and handed over the mantle to us. It’s our responsibility to take the flight ahead.” Despite the setback, Bishnoi said Shubman Gill led the side well.

“Shubman’s captaincy is very good. His bowling changes were spot on, it’s a sign of good captaincy,” he added.

Lucknow Super Giants signed off from the IPL 2024 with a 18-run win over Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium on Friday. Mumbai Indians thus finish last in the 10-team table with only 8 points from 14 games. Aided by a 109-run partnership between skipper KL Rahul (55 off 41 balls) and Nicholas Pooran (75 off 29 balls), LSG scored a commendable 214 for 6. The visitors then struck at regular intervals to stop MI at 196 for 6 despite Rohit Sharma’s 68 off 38 deliveries and Naman Dhir’s reargaurd 62 off 28 balls.

Earlier, Rahul first steadied the innings with Marucs Stoinis (28) after the fall of his opening partner Devdutt Padikkal for a duck and then stitched a century stand with West Indian Pooran, who clobbered eight maximums and five boundaries.

Spinner Piyush Chawla (3/29) and Sri Lankan pacer Nuwan Thusara (3/28) emerged the most successful Mumbai Indians bowlers, grabbing three wickets each.