It’s time to seal the deal!

India players celebrate a Zimbabwe wicket during the 3rd T20I at Harare on Wednesday. Pic/AFP

Back to their collective best, a clutch of young Indian stars will be eager to usher in a new era in the shortest format with a series victory when they face Zimbabwe in the fourth T20I here on Saturday.

After an unexpected defeat in the first match, the Shubman Gill-led side rediscovered its mojo in the second and third games to take a 2-1 lead with comprehensive wins.

Under the existing cricketing landscape, a series win over Zimbabwe will not rank high in the pecking order, but it will certainly spark ambitions inside some young players who are keen to take the team forward post the retirement of some modern-day greats.

None provide more compelling cases of that scenario than Washington Sundar and Abhishek Sharma.

Post the retirement of Ravindra Jadeja from T20Is, Washington is eyeing the spin-all-rounder slot and the Tamil Nadu man has shown some promising signs against Zimbabwe, taking six wickets at a fine economy of 4.5.

Sundar in for SL selection?

Whenever the selectors sit together to pick the Indian squad for the upcoming white-ball tour to Sri Lanka, they now will have to consider Sundar's name seriously.

The 24-year-old has given this Indian side the option of a bowler flexible enough to operate inside and outside the Powerplay, and a handy lower-order batter, who if the need arises, has the technique to come up the order as well.

Abhishek bludgeoned a 47-ball hundred in the second T20I here, underscoring the hope around him as a long-term India material.

India will no longer have the services of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the ultra-abridged version, and Yashasvi Jaiswal is the frontrunner to occupy one of those top-order slots.

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Pleasing show

Indian management will also be pleased by the outing of their bowlers, particularly that of leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, whose googlies were indecipherable for the home batters.

Bishnoi has six wickets, numbers similar to Washington and pacer Avesh Khan, who proved a nippy customer in this series.

On other hand, Zimbabwe have slipped a few rungs below after beating India in the first match.

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