The first ODI between India and Zimbabwe saw the former turn it into a one-sided affair on Thursday. After India’s stand-in skipper KL Rahul won the toss, he chose to bowl first against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club. India bundled Zimbabwe for 189 runs, thanks to Axar Patel (3 for 24), Deepak Chahar (3 for 27), Prasidh Krishna (3 for 50) and Mohammed Siraj (1 for 36). In response, Indian openers Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill made fun of Zimbabwe’s tally as they stitched an unbeaten 192-run first wicket tie to help India win the game with 115 balls left.
India and Zimbabwe will meet on Saturday (August 20) at the same location. As India aims to finish the three-game series with a win, the hosts will try to offer the guests a better challenge.
Here’s what we think could be India’s playing XI in the second ODI vs Zimbabwe:
Shikhar Dhawan: Although the southpaw scored his 81 runs off 113 balls, he made sure to stay in the fold to take India home in comfort. Dhawan’s strike rate was 71.68, while his innings ended with nine fours.
Shubman Gill: The righthanded batter scored 82 out of 72 balls in the first ODI vs Zimbabwe. He will try to continue his good form in the second game as well.
Ishan Kishan: In his three ODI innings to date, Ishan Kishan has scored a total of 88 runs with half a century’s help in his debut game. In T20Is, Kishan has performed well for India and he will try to carry the confidence in ODIs as well.
KL Rahul: This is the first time after IPL 2022 that KL Rahul plays an international series. Although he didn’t get a chance to bat in the first game, he will try to get some points under his belt in the coming games against Zimbabwe.
Deepak Hooda: A big score has eluded Hooda since his century against Ireland. He needs to take his time in the middle and anything better than the ODIs against Zimbabwe could give him the opportunity.
Sanju Samson: The right-handed wicketkeeper batter has shown glimpses of brilliance in his short international career thus far, but what he lacked is taking his innings deep more often than not.
Axar Patel: In addition to being impressive with the ball in hand, Axar was also good with his batting performance in the limited opportunities he had. He returned figures of 3 for 24 in 7.3 overs in the first ODI vs Zimbabwe.
Deepak Chahar: It was a good comeback from injury for Deepak Chahar. The right-arm pacer registered 3 for 27 in 7 overs against Zimbabwe in the first ODI.
Kuldeep Yadav: While the spinner has been out of favor in recent years, the ongoing Zimbabwe series certainly gives him the best chances of making his case strong. He remained wicketless in the first ODI against Zimbabwe while conceding 36 runs in his 10 overs.
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Prasidh Krishna: The pacemaker on the right arm gave figures of 3 for 50 in 8 overs in the first game against Zimbabwe in the ongoing series. A throw of three wickets would boost his confidence as the pacesetter has struggled to take wickets in the recent past.
Mohammed Siraj: The adaptive pacer only took one wicket in the first ODI vs Zimbabwe, but he was frugal. In the 8 overs bowled, Siraj conceded just 36 runs.
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