India and Zimbabwe meet in the Super 8 stage of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk, Chennai on Thursday, February 26. India come here on the back of a disheartening 77-run loss to South Africa in their first Super 8 game. Thus, they must win their remaining matches. If they are to make it to the semifinals, the Men in Blue have to be near-perfect in their next two games, and not make even a single mistake.
For Zimbabwe, this will be a big challenge since India are the defending champions of the World Cup. Yet, Sikandar Raza's men know that they can hit India at this moment, precisely because the latter are hurting over their loss to South Africa. Zimbabwe upset two big nations in the group phase of the World Cup - Sri Lanka and Australia - and managed to qualify for the Super 8 stage comfortably. Here, they will have to rely on their seam bowling duo of Richard Ngarava and Blessing Muzarabani to strike early blows into the Indian batting order. With the bat, Raza, Brian Bennett and Ryan Burl will have to fire.
India's batters put up a sorry showing against South Africa, and this cannot be repeated against Zimbabwe. Their top-order misfired, with the likes of Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma and Abhishek Sharma failing to make it count. India will not rotate their squad since this is a must-win encounter for them, and only if they win it will they retain any hope of making it to the semifinals. With the ball, Jasprit Bumrah is in good form, but Varun Chakaravarthy faltered against the Proteas. In this game, Axar Patel may be recalled due to the slowish nature of the Chepauk pitch, and its tendency to help spin bowling.
Predicted Teams
IND: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah.
ZIM: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani (wk), Ryan Burl, Sikandar Raza (c), Dion Myers, Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Wellington Masakadza, Brad Evans, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani.
Key Players
Ishan Kishan (IND): Opener-wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan is among those in form for India, as he showed with his 77-run knock against Pakistan. However, he failed to score against South Africa and was sent back to the pavilion in the first over. Nonetheless, the southpaw has shown glimpses of timing the ball well and will be expected to make it count against Zimbabwe. Kishan gets in line of the ball early and follows through with a flourish. He usually plays with a straight bat in the first six overs when the powerplay is on, and only two fielders are allowed outside the circle.
Sikandar Raza (ZIM): Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza is in good form coming into this game, with scores of 25* and 45 under his belt. Raza is known to be one of the best T20 batters in the world. He can trouble the Indian bowlers' lines and lengths. The right-hander is known to get under the ball easily and loft it over the ropes. His positioning skills, as well as fast hands, make him one to watch out for, especially inside the power play. Moreover, the Pakistan-born batter can also rotate the strike well and use his feet against the spinners.
Match Prediction
India, despite their recent setback, are the favourites to win. They have a good squad, and even if they were to bring Patel back into the XI for added depth in spin, their balance will not change. It is their batters who need to take up more responsibility, especially when the fielding restrictions are on. Zimbabwe's seamers pose a threat with the new ball, but once the ball gets old, India can make merry. If they use their timing well, India’s batters will have the upper hand. With the ball, India's sole aim will be to remain consistent and not give width to the Zimbabwean batters.