India have gained an unassailable 2-0 lead over Zimbabwe in the three-match ODI series, after claiming victories in first two matches. In the second ODI, which was played on Saturday at Harare Sports Club, India opted to bowl first and bundled out Zimbabwe for 161. In return, the hosts scalped an early wicket of skipper KL Rahul, who came as an opener with Shikhar Dhawan. But strong batting performances by Dhawan, Shubman Gill, and Sanju Samson, led Team India to a five-wicket win.
Both the teams will now be facing each other for the third and final ODI match at the same venue on Monday (August 22). While the visitors will be eyeing a clean sweep, it will be game to earn a consolation win. As it is a dead rubber, it will be interesting to see whether batter Rahul Tripathi makes his cut into team or not.
Here is what we think could be India’s playing XI in the third ODI vs Zimbabwe:
Shikhar Dhawan: The star batter proved his worth in both the ODIs against Zimbabwe. In the first match, he stood unbeaten and scored 81 runs off 113 balls while in the second match he scored 33 runs.
KL Rahul: The stand-in skipper came to open in the second ODI match but failed to get a big score. He will look forward to redeem himself in the third ODI by getting a respectable total.
Shubman Gill: The young batter lived up to the expectations of his fans in both the matches. Gill’s knock of 81 runs took India to a comfortable win in the first ODI, followed by 34 runs in the second ODI.
Ishan Kishan: Though he failed to get a big score in the second ODI, Ishan Kishan is one of the exciting young prospects. In his five ODI matches so far, the left-handed batter has registered 94 runs, with a half-century.
Deepak Hooda: Hooda showed his mettle after he scored a ton against Ireland. Since then, he has not hit big scores, but the small contributions have been valuable for the team’s cause. It will be interesting to see if the team management decides to rest Hooda and give a chance to Rahul Tripathi.
Sanju Samson: The 43-run knock by the wicketkeeper-batter, helped India to win the second ODI. Samson will look to continue his form in the third ODI.
Axar Patel: The all-rounder has scalped a total of four wickets in the first two ODIs against Zimbabwe. He also to came to bat in the second ODI but got only 7 balls to play, where he scored 6 runs laced with one boundary.
Shardul Thakur: Shardul is one of the key reasons of Team India’s victory in the second ODI. The all-rounder scalped three wickets and conceded 38 runs in his seven-over spell.
Kuldeep Yadav: After bowling an economical spell in the first ODI, the spinner became little costly in the second game as he conceded 49 runs in 8 overs but also scalped a wicket.
Promoted
Prasidh Krishna: The right-arm pacer registered the figures of 3 for 50 in 8 overs in the first match, but he only managed to take just one wicket in the second match.
Mohammed Siraj: The experienced pacer bowled 2 maiden overs out of 8 in the second match and also scalped a wicket after conceding only 16 runs.
Topics mentioned in this article
