T20 World Cup 2022: Match 42 - Predicted India Playing XI vs Zimbabwe

India will face Zimbabwe in their final fixture of the T20 World Cup 2022 Super 12 stage. This game will also put an end to the Super 12 stage of the tournament, and the tournament will have its final four teams for the semi-final fixtures. The Men In Blue bagged a brilliant victory against Bangladesh in the previous game, which took them to the top of the points table and closer to the semi-final berth.

The Men in Blue, who had a forgettable outing last season at the tournament, have impressed everyone this time around and are likely to finish on top of their Group 2 points table. Rohit Sharma’s men have showcased brilliance this season and will be eyeing another win before ending their Super 12 campaign so as to enter the semi-final in style.

Let’s look at India’s probable playing XI against Zimbabwe

Openers: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul

Both Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul have been on and off this season. From four games played in the tournament so far, the two have managed to score only one half-century and were dismissed cheaply in the remaining three fixtures. Because they haven’t managed to be at their best while opening the lineup, the burden is then passed on to the middle-order batters, which is one of India’s major concerns currently. Thus, Sharma and Rahul will have to fire with the bat.

Middle Order: Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Dinesh Karthik

Virat Kohli is in sublime touch. All he needs to do is continue playing the way he has been for the past few months. He is the leading run-scorer for India and just three runs away from becoming the leading run-scorer of the tournament again. Kohli will step up to India’s rescue if the openers fail to give the side the desired start.

The No. 1 ranked batter in ICC Men’s T20I Rankings- Suryakumar Yadav is also at the peak of his career. He has proved to be a force to reckon with as the opposition players are now wary of the in-form middle-order batter. He will be expected to play the crucial innings for the side if the top-order fails.

Dinesh Karthik has not been at his best in the tournament. He found himself a spot in the playing combination ahead of Rishabh Pant for the wicketkeeper-batter role given his ability to strike in the death overs. But he has failed to impress.

All-Rounders: Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin

Hardik played a crucial role both with bat and the ball in India’s campaign opener against Pakistan. But since then, he hasn’t been much effective with the bat and has scored just seven runs in his previous two outings. He has continued to be among the wicket-takers, but he will have to brush up on his batting skills.

Axar Patel has been a part of three out of India’s four games so far but has proven worthy only with the ball, that too in just one game, when he picked two wickets against the Netherlands. Ravi Ashwin, on the other hand, has proved to be a handy batter at bottom of the batting order. He has also been impactful with the ball and thus will maintain his place in the team.

Bowlers: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh

The pace-bowling trio of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Shami has been very much impressive in the tournament. The three have helped India in claiming the crucial wickets during the powerplay. Though Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shami hold more experience, young-gun Arahdeep Singh has proved to be better than the rest.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has failed to pick wickets in the previous two games but has bowled at a decent economy. Shami has four wickets from the tournament, one each from the four games. Arshdeep Singh, on the other hand, has nine wickets from four games, having bagged a minimum of two wickets in each of the four games. He has made a mark like nobody else, and will surely be the pick of the bowlers in India’s final game as well.

England Predicted XI: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh