Zimbabwe won the first game but it woke the Indian team wide awake. So naturally the hosts had to pay for disturbing the sleep the very next day. India went all guns blazing and scored 234, putting the Zimbabwean batters back to bed before they could reach the 150-mark. World Champions will be World Champions, even Sikandar Raza could not disagree. However, barging through the 200-run barrier does not change the fact that this team is still very young. And what is youth if not mercurial? Scoring 102 runs as a team in one game and defeating the opponents by 100 runs in the next shows how true the statement is.
The mercurial youths get joined by more zen players, fresh from the after-victory party. That means Zimbabwe has now gotten a tougher nut to crack, which seems unlikely to give way until Sikandar Raza’s men see themselves as a team no less.
Team Overview:
India team got Shivam Dube, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Sanju Samson in an express delivery straight from home. Is it as joyous as it looks? Probably not. Despite being with the winning team during the tournament and after victory, both Jaiswal and Samson did not exhibit their skills in even a single game. Dube, on the other hand, got to play 8 World Cup games and scored at a timid average of 21 striking at a mere 113. This can be a cause of concern for India but what else are they here to do if not address the team’s concerns?
Zimbabwe showed unignorable signs of weakness in their batting line in both games. Interestingly, amidst the players who could not middle the ball properly, Brian Bennett struck at the rate of almost 290 as if batting in some other dimension. One can debate that the team is without a couple of regular players, but that does not change that the batting succumbed badly under pressure. Credit to the loss goes also to the bowlers but one can always count on some of the players to do the job for everyone. Another crucial change the team needs to make is to get rid of slippery hands. In the shortest format, the margin of error is already the size of a peanut, dropping catches worsens the situation.
Head-to-head Matches:
In the ten games Zimbabwe and India have clashed, India has come out victorious 7 times while the Chevrons could gather gold in three games.
Weather and Pitch Report:
Same, old Harare pitch. The batters scored comfortably in the last game, and the batting conditions will only become better. Spinners need to ensure they make the most out of what the deck offers. Batters can utilise the true bounce to middle the ball.
Prediction:
India are on a roll and will trample anything that comes their way. It’s no hyperbole that Zimbabwe have a tough job ahead of them if they want to get the series lead. While India are the better contender to win the match, they too will have a difficult job to do.
Where to Watch:
India – Sony Sports Network (Sony Sports Ten 3, Sony Sports Ten 4, and Sony Sports Ten 5) and Sony Liv App (Live Streaming)
Rest of the Word: Crichd.tv (Live Streaming)
