Zimbabwe, who lost the last two matches, will take on India again in the third game of the five-match bilateral series 2013 on Sunday. The match will be played at Harare Sports Club, Harare.
The game will begin at 01:30 PM IST on Sunday and it will be broadcast live in India on Ten Cricket.
Overview:
Zimbabwe will come into the contest well aware of the fact that India will clinch the series if they lost one of the three remaining games. They lost the first match by six wickets and the second one by 58 runs. They put up a tough fight in the second game, and a little effort by the middle order would have taken them home. They will be keen to win at least a couple of games as some of their players are in good form.
India lead the series 2-0 after winning the two games played. The performance of Zimbabwe in the last match has revealed a different picture - that they are capable of winning games on their day and if they put in their acts together. The poor form of some of the batsmen will worry the team when they come into the third game.
Previous Meetings:
India have 41-10 win-loss and two tie record against Zimbabwe in 53 meetings. India defeated Zimbabwe in the last two matches of the series.
Team News:
Zimbabwe: Sikandar Raza (82) was the lead scorer for the team in the first match but it was Prosper Utseya (52 not out) and Elton Chigumbara (46) who put up a brave late onslaught in the second match, helped score 236 runs though for a losing cause. Visu Sibanda is in good form, scoring 55 after a knock of 34 in the first match. Hamilton Masakadza (34) and Sikandar Raza (20) were the other main contributors for the team. They will be expected to put in their acts together and score big.
On the bowling front, Brian Vitori took two wickets in the previous match, while Prosper Utseya, Sean Williams, Kyle Jarvis and Tendai Chatara took a wicket apiece.
India: Shikhar Dhawan scored 116 and Dinesh Karthik scored 69 in the previous match. Skipper Virat Kohli's century and Ambati Rayudu's knock of 63 helped the team win in the first match. However, their inconsistency and poor form of some key players will worry the team when they come into the third match.
On the bowling front, Jaydev Unadkat took four wickets in the previous match, and Amit Mishra, who took three wickets in the first match, took two more in the second game. They will be expected to rip into the batting line-up of the opponents.
Prediction:
Zimbabwe are getting better as the series progresses but India are the favourite to win the third game too.
Squads:
Zimbabwe: Brendan Taylor (c), Sikandar Raza, Tendai Chatara, Michael Chinouya, Elton Chigumbura, Graeme Cremer, Kyle Jarvis, Timycen Maruma, Hamilton Masakadza, Natsai M'shangwe, Tinotenda Mutombodzi, Vusimuzi Sibanda, Prosper Utseya, Brian Vitori, Malcolm Waller, Sean Williams
India: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Cheteshwar Pujara, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Parveez Rasool, Shami Ahmed, R Vinay Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohit Sharma
