ZIM vs IND 3rd ODI Preview: India eye clean sweep vs beleaguered Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe vs India 3rd ODI Preview: After securing the series with big wins in the first two ODIs, Team India would look to make it a clean sweep when they take on Zimbabwe in the third and final game

Team India has been in terrific form and it would look to carry that on when it faces Zimbabwe in the third and final ODI of the three-match series at the Harare Sports Club in Harare. Men in Blue have already won the first two games quite comfortably and nothing less than a clean sweep will be on their minds.  

Batting: A big problem for Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe have been unable to play out the 50 overs in both games. Its batters did show some resolve initially in the second game by not losing a wicket inside the Powerplay. However, once the floodgates opened up, everything was washed away and once again the Chevrons lost wickets in bunches. 

The likes of Sikandar Raza and Regis Chakbva, who bailed out the team twice against Bangladesh with centuries to their name recently, have failed to convert the starts that they have got in this series. More than anything else, it is the failure of such players that are hurting the Zimbabwean batting. For Zimbabwe to play out the 50 overs, which should be their main target, these two need to bat for a longer period. 

India look to experiment

Having secured the series already, India would look to not only try new faces but also try and bat first if possible. In the first two games, KL Rahul won the toss and simply chose to bowl first. But in case he wins the toss this time around, he will surely look to bat first and give a chance to himself and other batters to find form ahead of the all-important Asia Cup. 

Possible playing elevens of both the teams

The Indian team could play a lot of different players, to be honest. First and foremost, Avesh Khan could come in place of Prasidh Krishna while Deepak Chahar could replace Mohd Siraj to balance out the workload. Shahbaz Ahmed could make his India debut in place of Axar Patel and Rahul Tripathi could come in as Deepak Hooda or Ishan Kishan’s replacement in the side. 

As for Zimbabwe, they could think of bringing in Milton Shumba and Clive Madande in place of Kaitano or Innocent Kaia or even Wessely Madhevere just to shake up things a bit in the batting department. As for bowling, they could go with Richard Ngarava in place of Victor Nyauchi. 

India Predicted Playing 11

Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan/ Rahul Tripathi Sanju Samson, Deepak Hooda, Axar Patel/ Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan

Zimbabwe Predicted Playing 11 

Takudzwanashe Kaitano/Clive Madande Innocent Kaia, Wesley Madhevere/Milton Shumba, Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Regis Chakabva (c), Ryan Burl, Luke Jongwe, Brad Evans, Victor Nyauchi/ Richard Ngarava, Tanaka Chivanga

How will the pitch play?

Harare has been a batting-friendly wicket and would continue to be so. There is early help ford the bowlers in the morning, but post that it is a good track to improve batting averages. Spin bowlers also get something out of the wicket from the old ball. 

Who holds the edge?

When it comes to holding the edge, India have a firm grip on their opposition and they have shown in both the previous games. Thus in this last match of the series too, it is them who hold the edge.