IND vs ZIM Match Preview
We think that India has enough batting firepower and class in its lineup to get the better of Zimbabwe's bowling attack. Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav are the two big names but the likes of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul have played a few decent innings as well.
Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have all had a good T20 World Cup 2022 so far. The role of the spinners has been a bit lesser than expected but Ashwin and Axar may still both end up playing.
Apart from Sikandar Raza, the rest of the Zimbabwe batting has not been good enough. Sean Williams and Craig Ervine have the experience but at this late stage in their careers, they are not the most consistent. We don't think the Zimbabwe batting lineup is good enough to challenge India.
Blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava are the two bowlers that could make some early inroads and give Zimbabwe a sniff but if that does not happen, the rest of the bowling could really go for a lot of runs.
Weather Report
The rain seems to have finally left Melbourne and the forecast for this match is excellent. Bright sunshine and pleasant temperatures lie in store.
Pitch Report
The pitch has been fast and bouncy so far and actually helped the seamers. The large square boundaries are hard to clear but the straight boundaries can be targetted.
A score of around 160-170 is a good one at this venue.
Notable stats
Virat Kohli's Complete Dominance
There is something about performing on the big stage that gets the best out of Virat Kohli. He has 13 50+ scores in 22 T20 World Cup innings. He also averages nearly 90 and has more runs than any other player in history.
Team News
No injury concerns for any team. All India might discuss is the possibility of playing Rishab Pant in place of either Dinesh Karthik or one of the spinners.
IND vs ZIM Probable 11
IND Playing 11
- KL Rahul
- Rohit Sharma (C)
- Virat Kohli
- Suryakumar Yadav
- Hardik Pandya
- Dinesh Karthik (Wk)
- Axar Patel
- R Ashwin
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar
- Mohammad Shami
- Arshdeep Singh
ZIM Playing 11
- Wesley Madhevere
- Craig Ervine (C)
- Regis Chakabva (Wk)
- Sean Williams
- Sikandar Raza
- Milton Shumba
- Ryan Burl
- Luke Jongwe
- Richard Ngarava
- Tendai Chatara
- Blessing Muzarabani
Dream11 Prediction
his is a potentially tricky match because of the situation but if you look at the two teams independently, there is really no reason why Zimbabwe should even threaten India. Looking at the kind of form we have seen from the two sides, we think India is the team to back.
Top Picks
Arshdeep Singh - He got a lot of swing in Melbourne and if that is the case, he will be very tough to face.
Virat Kohli - Ride the form of the greatest white-ball batter in history. Virat Kohli has also been coming to the crease early because India's opening pair is not performing well.
Sikandar Raza - The only Zimbabwe player that can threaten to take the game to (and maybe away from) India. You have to have him in your Dream11 team.
IND vs ZIM Dream11 Team 1
Keeper: R Chakabva
Batters: V Kohli (C), S Yadav, L Rahul
All-rounders: S Williams, A Patel, S Raza, H Pandya
Bowlers: M Shami, R Ngarava, A Singh (VC)
