ZIM vs IND Match Prediction & Betting Tips - Jul 06, 2024
India has just won the T20 World Cup (the victory parade was less than 24 hours ago!) but such is the schedule that a 5-match T20 series against Zimbabwe is about to get underway! Of course, none of the players that were a part of the World Cup squad will feature in the first two matches and only a few are going to join the team for the remaining three matches.
Zimbabwe is not the strongest team but it has a few excellent players. It will hope to make an impact against a young Indian side and continue working its way up the rankings.
Zimbabwe vs India T20 Head to Head
India and Zimbabwe have played each other 8 times in T20 cricket with India winning six of those matches and losing two. 7 out of the 8 matches have been played in Harare since Zimbabwe almost never gets to tour India any more.
Zimbabwe vs India T20 series Live Streaming and Broadcast
The Zim v India Series Live Streaming and Broadcast rights are with the Sony Corporation. That means you can catch the matches on the Sony Liv App or the Sony network of TV channels.
Zimbabwe vs India 1st T20 Match Prediction and Cricket Betting Tips
ZIM vs IND Team Previews
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe has a lot of work to do before it can get back to the glory days of cricket during the 90's when its team was a genuine contender in every match that it played. Not being able to qualify for the T20 World Cup was a massive loss and shows just how far back the team has fallen.
Sikandar Raza, the captain of the team, is also its best player by far. A genuine all-rounder, Sikandar Raza has cut his teeth around the T20 circuit and found success against top-quality opponents. He is a true match-winner and someone that Zimbabwe will be banking on with both bat and ball.
The problem is that there is just not too much quality around him. Innocent Kaia, Milton Shumba, and Dion Myers are likely to find a place in the top order. Neither of these players are particularly powerful and might struggle against spin.
Raza will marshall the middle order with help from Madhevere, Madande, and possibly Bennett.
This is not a strong batting lineup and we will look to bet against them in markets like Most 4's, Most 6's, Team with Highest Scorer etc. The odds are not going to be great but you take what you can in such contests.
The bowling has a bit more teeth. Richard Ngarava and Blessing Muzarabani will test the batters with some swing and steep bounce. Sikandar Raza himself is a very good spinner and will have good support from Luke Jongwe and perhaps Wellington Masakadza.
Is this a bowling lineup that will get the better of the inexperienced Indian team? In all likelihood, no. This may be the best that Zimbabwe has but it is not even close to the quality of bowling these players have faced (and dominated) in the IPL.
Zimbabwe Playing 11
Wesley Madhevere, Innocent Kaia, Brian Bennett, Sikandar Raza, Dion Myers, Johnathan Campbell, Clive Madande, Wellington Masakadza, Luke Jongwe, Blessing Muzarabani, Tendai Chatara.
India
This series against Zimbabwe may not hold a lot of importance as a while but will be very keenly watched by Indian cricket fans. This is because you will get to see the next generation of Indian cricketers on the big stage. Flight delays have meant that players like Shivam Dube, Sanju Samson, and Yashasvi Jaiswal will not join the team until the 3rd T20.
What kind of lineup could we see?
Shubman Gill is the captain and the first-choice opening batter. With Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli having retired from T20 internationals, there are two massive spots open in the batting lineup and Gill will look to cement the other. Abhishek Sharma seems likely to be the second opening batter ahead of Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Abhishek Sharma smashed 39 sixes in the IPL and is also very handy with the ball. The fact that is left-handed also goes in his favor.
Sai Sudharsan, Riyan Parag, Rinku Singh, and Dhruv Jurel seem likely to take up the next four spots. Now, India has the option to play Washington Sundar at 7 (a spot too high for our liking) or maybe add Jitesh Sharma to the lineup to lengthen the batting order.
That would mean depending on Abhishek Sharma and Riyan Parag for four overs so India might not be too keen for that.
Ravi Bishnoi has little competition for the spinner's spot and will get a game for sure. The three pace bowlers have a lot of jostling to do, though. Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, and Avesh Khan seem likely to start with Harshit Rana and Tushar Deshpande waiting in the wings.
All of India's players have faced a lot of success in the IPL but that does not necessarily translate to success at the International level. We still think India has the depth and quality to overcome Zimbabwe with ease, though.
India Playing 11
Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Riyan Parag, Rinku Singh, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed.
ZIM vs IND Toss Prediction
The team that wins the toss is likely to want to bat first. There have been 41 T20 internationals played at the Harare Sports Club with 23 of them being won by the team that has batted first.
Read our guide on toss predictions to learn how we analyze and come up with our tips.
Pitch and Conditions
The weather forecast for match day is excellent. There is no rain predicted and we should have sunny skies to allow an uninterrupted contest. The average score batting first at the Harare Sports Club is 156. We think the game has moved on a bit and team will target nothing less than 180 batting first.
The pitch should be flat and offer nothing much to the bowlers. If we look at the stats from the previous four years, we can see that spinners have averaged lesser and had a better strike rate than the fast bowlers. This suggests that the bowlers to pick the most wickets are the spinners.
ZIM vs IND Betting Tips
We have no hesitation in betting on India to win this match. They have a stronger batting lineup with more power at its disposal. The bowling is also quite good and will test the Zimbabwe batters. The only things going against them are a lack of batting depth (with Dube not having joined the touring party yet) and inexperience.
Zimbabwe might give them a bit of a fight but we don't see an upset happening.
Bet on India to win.
We are eager to know what you think of our match predictions, if there is anything we can do better or if you want to let us know your own predictions for the match.