India will battle it out with Zimbabwe in the third and final ODI on Monday (August 22). With their five-wicket win on Saturday, the Indian cricket team won the three-match series against Zimbabwe with a game remaining. The results was on expected lines but the manner in which Zimbabwe batters have surrendered to India was nothing less than disappointing.
India might give chance to players who have not yet gotten a game so far on the short tour. The likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rahul Tripathi, Avesh Khan and even Shahbaz Ahmed could feature in the eleven as the tourists target a series sweep on Monday.
The 3rd ODI match between India and Zimbabwe will take place on August 22, Monday.
The 3rd ODI match between India and Zimbabwe will be played at the Harare Sports Club.
The 3rd ODI match between India and Zimbabwe will begin at 12:45 pm IST.
India vs Zimbabwe 3rd ODI match will be televised on Sony Sports Network in India.
In both the ODIs so far, Team India bowled first and bundled out the hosts for below par totals of 189 and 161. In the second ODI, all eyes were on KL Rahul on how he goes about his batting, but the stand-in skipper failed to leave a mark as he was dismissed after scoring just 1 run.
In the second ODI, Deepak was also not in playing XI, and in his place, shardul Thakur got a chance, and he returned with three wickets. It would be interesting to see whether Team India decides to bat first if they end up winning the toss.
India (IND) vs Zimbabwe (ZIM) Possible XIs
India Predicted Line-up: Shikhar Dhawan/Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul (captain), Shubman Gill/Rahul Tripathi, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson (wk), Deepak Hooda, Axar Patel/Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Avesh Khan, Mohammad Siraj/Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Yadav
Zimbabwe Predicted Line-up: Tadiwanashe Marumani, Sean Williams, Innocent Kaia, Wessly Madhevere, Sikandar Raza, Regis Chakabva (captain & wk), Tony Munyonga, Luke Jongwe, Richard Ngarava, Brad Evans, Victo
The hosts’ Zimbabwe was no match for India’s ruthlessness and quality in the 2nd ODI match. India wrestled down the hosts in the second ODI match too and went on to take an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the ODI series. They will look to experiment with a few more players in the 3rd and final ODI match and look to audition for the future.
Zimbabwe on the other hand will be searching for that big performance from any player that might give them an upper hand to fight the strong Indian team. The hosts would be hoping to put up a healthy score onboard. On both occasions, they were all out for below 200.
Their big guns Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams, and Regis Chakabva have not contributed much. Zimbabwe performed well against Bangladesh, but so far against India, they have looked abysmal. In the third ODI, the hosts would look to put on a good overall display with bat and ball.
India won the match by 5 wickets as they scored 167/5 in 25.4 overs. Sanju Samson top scored with 43 runs and led the team to the victory. Shikhar Dhawan (33 runs), Shubman Gill (33 runs), and Deepak Hooda (25 runs) in the match. The likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rahul Tripathi might get a chance in playing XI in this 3rd and final ODI match.
Shardul Thakur claimed 3 wickets and was the leading wicket-taker in this match. Mohammed Siraj and Axar Patel claimed a wicket apiece and were phenomenal with the ball. All the six bowlers claimed wickets as Deepak Hooda, Kuldeep Yadav, and Prasidh Krishna too took a wicket each in the match.
After having returned from a long injury lay-off, Deepak Chahar bowled extremely well in the first ODI against Zimbabwe where he took as many as three wickets and moreover bowled seven back-to-back overs in a single spell. The right-arm pacer was also named the Player of the Match for his special performance. But he was rested for the 2nd ODI to manage his workload.
He may return for the 3rd ODI which also may see Rahul Tripathi and Ruturaj Gaikwad debut in ODI format. The likes of batters Shubman Gill, Shikhar Dhawan, and pacers Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj may be rested for the 3rd inconsequential ODI.