With an opportunity to seal the three-match T20I series, India will take on Zimbabwe in the second game at the Harare Sports Club on Saturday, after starting their campaign with a convincing seven-wicket win in the first T20I.
Shreyas Iyer’s men will be confident of another dominant display after a one-sided victory on Thursday. On a challenging surface for batters, Indian pacers dominated the proceedings to restrict the hosts to a below-par total.
Making his international comeback after more than two years, Mayank Yadav was impressive. His fiery hard-length deliveries proved unplayable for the Zimbabwe batters, as he combined with Prince Yadav to reduce the hosts to 32 for 4 and later 64 for 5. Tadiwanashe Marumani and Wessly Madhevere then played handy knocks to push the total to a respectable score.
India chased down the target in just 13.2 overs, with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi smashing a record-breaking 18-ball half-century to give India a 1-0 lead in the series. Sooryavanshi effectively killed the chase within the first few overs, slamming boundaries at will.
India handed a debut cap to Ashok Sharma in the previous game and are likely to continue with him in this match as well, with Iyer expected to field the same playing XI.
Predicted Playing XI for India vs Zimbabwe 2nd T20I
India’s Probable XI: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (w), Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma (vc), Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Prince Yadav, Ashok Sharma, Mayank Yadav.
Zimbabwe’s Probable XI: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani (w), Ben Curran, Dion Myers, Sikandar Raza (c), Ryan Burl, Wessly Madhevere, Brad Evans, Newman Nyamhuri, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani.
India vs Zimbabwe T20I Squads
India Squad: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Tilak Varma, Shreyas Iyer(c), Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Suryansh Shedge, Prince Yadav, Yash Thakur, Ashok Sharma, Mayank Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Prabhsimran Singh, Harsh Dubey, Ravi Bishnoi.
Zimbabwe Squad: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani(w), Dion Myers, Sikandar Raza(c), Ryan Burl, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Wessly Madhevere, Milton Shumba, Richard Ngarava, Tanaka Chivanga, Blessing Muzarabani, Ben Curran, Tafadzwa Tsiga, Newman Nyamhuri.