Zim v Ind, 3rd ODI Preview: Young Indians sniff a clean sweep

The series has progressed as per expectations so far for the young Indian team. Zimbabwe has played their best possible team on both the occasions in the previous games but their performances have seen no improvement. In fact, it has downgraded further. There are no prizes to guess that the Indians will be the clear-cut favourites to win the game and sweep the series 3-0. The interesting part would be to see if the Zimbabweans will be able to put up a fight in the last ODI or will it continue to be a one-sided contest.

Zimbabwe:

The cheerful lot of cricket fans thronging the Harare Sports Club have been treated with disappointment by their team thus far. The team has turned out to be utter failures in the last game. After an early slump, the batting order showed some fight and clawed back from the hole at one stage only to plunge into it again. There were starts but the confidence seems to be lacking. The team plans must include a strategy to counter Brainder Sran and Dhawal Kulkarni’s swift, swinging deliveries at the start. The middle order has also got starts but surrendered meekly trying to break free after been tied up by the miserly bowling of the Indian spinners. The bowlers haven’t really got much to contribute in both the matches. They have been economical but to bring the Indians under pressure they must pick wickets.

Probable XI:

Chamu Chibhabha, Hamilton Masakadza, Peter Moor, Vusi Sibanda, Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams, Richmond Mutumbami (WK), Elton Chigumbura, Graeme Cremer (C), Tendai Chatara, Taurai Muzarabani

India:

Faiz Fazal had received his ODI cap from the skipper MS Dhoni. He becomes the 214th player to represent Team India in ODIs. The batting order remains fairly untested as on both occasions the top order had done the job perfectly. KL Rahul is the highest run-getter of the series. Karun Nair played a cautious knock. Ambati Rayudu continues to be the ‘Mr. Reliable’ of the batting order. Although there is no need for any change, MS Dhoni has the option to give a chance to the players sitting on the bench. Jayant Yadav can come in for Axar Patel. Jasprit Bumrah has had a great tour and can now probably make way for his compatriot Jaydev Unadkat. It is, obviously, not possible for such a string of changes to take place in a MS Dhoni XI. But, considering the fragility of the opposition, there is probably no risk in opting for such massive changes in the team line-up.

Playing XI:

Faiz Fazal, Lokesh Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Axar Patel, Dhawal Kulkarni, Yuzvendra Chahal, Barinder Sran, Jasprit Bumrah

Pitch & Conditions: 

The venue remains the same – Harare Sports club where the crowd has been making music and dancing to it, enjoying every bit of the cricketing action. The weather will be cold and chilly like the previous game. The pitch is also expected to be two-paced like it was in the first two games.