Toss Zimbabwe elected to bowl against India
Sikandar Raza won the toss and chose to bowl at the Harare Sports Club, hoping to keep the three-match T20I series alive. Raza was confident the pitch would not be as “spicy” as the one that produced a modest 125 for 7 in the series opener, before India chased down the total to win by seven wickets.
Shreyas Iyer, who lost his first toss since taking over as India’s T20I captain last month, announced only one change to the squad: Vidarbha’s Yash Thakur was awarded his India cap, replacing Ashok Sharma, who debuted in the previous match. Ashok had finished with figures of 0 for 29 off four overs.
Thakur, like his predecessor, has long been part of the BCCI’s targeted pool of fast bowlers and has trained extensively under the VVS Laxman-led support staff at the Centre of Excellence.
Despite making only a single IPL appearance for Punjab Kings this season, he was Vidarbha’s highest wicket-taker during their run to a maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy (50-over) title, claiming 19 wickets in nine games at an economy rate of 6.43.
With five T20I caps, Prince Yadav remains the most experienced India seamer in the XI. Ravi Bishnoi continues as the lone spinner, leaving Harsh Dubey waiting for his opportunity to debut in the shortest format. The squad composition also leaves India with just four specialist bowlers, as Shivam Dube and Abhishek Sharma must contribute as the fifth bowling option.
Following T20I series defeats in Ireland and England, defending T20 World Cup champions India are looking to secure a series victory.
Zimbabwe: 1 Brian Bennett, 2 Ben Curran, 3 Dion Myers, 4 Sikandar Raza (capt), 5 Ryan Burl, 6 Wessly Madhevere, 7 Tadiwanashe Marumani (wk), 8 Brad Evans, 9 Newman Nyamhuri, 10 Richard Ngarava, 11 Blessing Muzarabani
India: 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, 3 Ishan Kishan (wk), 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Rinku Singh, 8 Yash Thakur, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Mayank Yadav, 11 Prince Yadav
