Bennett to start with his offspin with Jaiswal on strike. One slip in
12:58pm So Gill and Jaiswal reunite to open the batting for India. Abhishek likely to bat at No. 3
Sriram: “Apart from a plethora of T20 openers in that line up, everyone likes to hit the ball long and hard. The only one that can anchor is Ruturaj. He is the Virat mould touch player that every team needs even in this day and age of T20”
Abhinav Kumar: “Instead of playing so many openers India need to identify who best suits which position. imo Parag should have been at 5 and Samson at 3. the whole lineup is disturbed to accommodate 4 openers”
12:53pm Shivam Dube: “Being part of Indian cricket team is a special thing. Being part of the World Cup squad is a dream. And winning the World Cup is very special for me and the nation. It was amazing, enjoyed every moment. Not easy to win the World Cup, we were waiting since a long time. Really happy. I can work and improve on my game, this series is very important for me. This is where I can express myself in all departments. Indian cricket team dressing room looks similar, we have learnt many things from the senior players. We don’t make many changes, we keep it cool and calm.”
Brian Bennett: “Very amazing, to win the first game in a five-match T20I series, brings pride to the team. We have a good chance of winning the series. I don’t mind [batting anywhere]. Not too fazed wherever I bat. You always look at it in hindsight, we spoke about intent in the dressing room. I have learnt a lot in the last few weeks, showing intent and positivity. Hopefully we’ll do good things for Zimbwbwe.”
12:50pm Hello again, peeps! What do you make of that India XI? I, for one, think India should have kept Parag in the XI instead of Gaikwad for the extra bowling option. Plus given Gaikwad has played predominantly as an opener, No. 4 could be a touch too low for him.
Sabari: “I think you are right. Having 4 openers batting at 1-4 positions is definitely not a great idea. Makes it difficult for the middle order to have a proper go. Out of these 4, only 3 should play, Sanju at 4, Dube/ Rinku at 5 & 6 depending upon the situation.”
Time to welcome back Sudarshanan for the first ten overs
12:40pm Pitch report: There is a stark difference to the pitch no. 3 that was used on Saturday and Sunday. Yes, there is grass but the grass is rolled in. Not a lot of moisture has gone in. It is a good batting surface. In the second part of the game, the pitch slows up and makes it a little more difficult for the batters. 160-170 should be a good score.
Playing XIs
India: 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Abhishek Sharma, 4 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 5 Sanju Samson (wk and vice-capt), 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Rinku Singh, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Avesh Khan, 11 Khaleel Ahmed
IN: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Khaleel Ahmed
OUT: Riyan Parag, Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, Mukesh Kumar
Zimbabwe: 1 Wessly Madhevere, 2 Tadiwanashe Marumani, 3 Brian Bennett, 4 Sikandar Raza (capt), 5 Dion Myers, 6 Johnathan Campbell, 7 Clive Madande (wk), 8 Wellington Masakadza, 9 Richard Ngarava, 10 Blessing Muzarabani, 11 Tendai Chatara
IN: Tadiwanashe Marumani, Richard Ngarava
OUT: Innocent Kaia, Luke Jongwe
12.30pm Time for the toss. The Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza has the coin. Shubman Gill says tails, it is a tail and India are batting first. The three World Cup winners, Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube are back. Mukesh Kumar is being rotated, says
Shubman Gill: Looking to bat first. We have got the World Cup winners back in the team. We have got a pretty balanced side. Deep batting with the power-hitters coming in.
Sikandar Raza: We were gonna bowl first. Ngarava is declared fit for Luke [Jongwe]. Innocent Kaia is out, Marumani comes in. It is not as flat as the second T20I. Definitely something for the seamers at the top. Should take some turn.
Minutes to go for toss, time to say hello to Ashish Pant.
12:20pm Abhishek Sharma had a superb Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last year. Then he showed his wares at a level higher, in IPL 2024. Which meant that ignoring him would be tough. He was handed his maiden India call-up for this series and made an impact with his first international century in his second T20I. Uff, some belligerent hitting that was, and Ekanth wrote about his expanding territory after the match. With Jaiswal back in the mix now, will India continue with Abhishek at the top, or push him a place down to No. 3?
Nameer Mahfuz: “I’ll be following this match, meanwhile Jimmy Anderson will be playing his last test match. 700 wickets, the most for a seamer.”
12:10pm Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza has a skilled squad at his disposal. And he said that the mistakes they made in the second T20I was down to lack of experience. One of their youngsters, Brian Bennett, has had a couple of starts he has not converted. Karthik Krishnaswamy has him in the spotlight in his match preview
JOYDEEP GILL: “In previous match Zimbabwe dropped Abhishek Sharma catch after that he did make century this is the perfect example if you drop aggressive batsman in T20 matches then you just don’t drop the catch but the match also “
12pm Hello, hello, hello! It’s nearly time for the third men’s T20I between Zimbabwe and India. The series is deliciously poised at 1-1 with three games to go. And India’s squad has been strengthened with their T20 World Cup winners Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube linking up. Will Zimbabwe be able to build on the promise they showed on Saturday, and challenge this strong Indian contingent again? Let’s find that out. I am S Sudarshanan, and along with Ashish Pant, will be your eyes and ears for all that happens in Harare today.
