India look for partial redemption against spirited Zimbabwe
HARARE: Shreyas Iyer would be eager for his first win as India captain while his young team eyes course correction against a spunky Zimbabwe that is expected to fight hard during the short three-match T20I series starting here on Thursday.
Having lost six out of his first seven T20I games as skipper in series defeats to minnows Ireland and a seasoned England side, the rubber against Zimbabwe gives Iyer and company a chance to get the house in order.
A series win against Zimbabwe would be the expected outcome but a defeat could unnerve the dressing room that also features a 15-year-old Sooryavanshi.
For this tour, India will have a stop-gap head coach in VVS Laxman, whose personality if diametrically opposite to the combative regular gaffer Gautam Gambhir.
It is not that Laxman wouldn’t want to win the series but his propensity to experiment with playing eleven is far less compared to Gambhir.
The spotlight will once again chase ‘Boy Wonder’ Sooryavanshi, who is set to open in all three games alongside Abhishek Sharma as Sanju Samson hasn’t even been selected.But this series will have a different context.
It was supposed to be an opportunity to experiment for a new-look bowling attack, but has turned into a must-win affair due to recent debacles.
The afternoon games at the Harare Sports Club’s tracks, which always have a bit of juice and carry, can pose problems for most of the Indian batters save skipper Iyer as they don’t tend to use their feet.
Blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava, two tall and potent fast bowlers have the ability to cause chaos if Indians become over-confiLaxman’s strategy, therefore, would be interesting to watch. With vice-captain Tilak Varma not looking comfortable at No.5, how would the stand-in head coach manoeuvre with that position? Tilak, in T20Is, is best suited at No.3 but Ishan Kishan, a senior member in this set-up, has been given that role.
At No.5, Rinku Singh is a better bet with his street smart style of batting but it will not be easy to drop a designated vice captain.Between Shedge and Harsh, there is not much to choose as the former’s bowling isn’t up to the mark and the latter’s batting doesn’t have that kind of flamboyance that one would expect at No.8.
While Gambhir has had a fascination for all-rounders, Laxman’s preferences are different. He can’t afford to have a long tail as neither among the rookie pace quartet of Mayank Yadav, Ashok Sharma, Prince Yadav and Yash Thakur can bat.