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After an emphatic ODI clean-sweep, India will be looking to continue their dominance over Zimbabwe when they take the field in the first T20 match at Harare on Friday.
After a scratchy win in the opening ODI, India got their act together quite quickly to outplay the hosts, who fizzled out after showing some intensity to start with.
The visitors do not have too many concerns to ponder over as they have delivered on all fronts.
Even the injury to in-form batsman Ambati Rayudu, who was named Man of the Series, has hardly been a blow given that his replacement Manish Pandey came good on debut itself with a 71-run knock.
We never felt that it will be a 3-0 scoreline. We always knew that they would be tough to beat on their home soil. It was challenging, especially batting first in all three games, but our batters did an excellent job to put up a 250-plus score in every game. That’s where I feel we won the games.
– Kedar Jadhav
The match would be a test for the opening duo of skipper Ajinkya Rahane and Murali Vijay to give the side a flying start, which is an absolute must in the T20 format.
Senior batsman Robin Uthappa, who did not have a great run in the ODIs, will also be looking to create an impact in the T20s. Sanju Samson, who has flown is as a replacement for Rayudu, could make his debut tomorrow.
The bowlers have been fairly consistent in their performance and will look to ensure similar consistency in the shortest format.
The Zimbabweans, on the other hand, remain heavily reliant on Chamu Chibhabha in the batting department. He did well in the ODIs but more would be expected of Hamilton Masakadza and Elton Chigumbura, both of whom did not have much to show for in the ODIs.
“We’ve got the potential, as you can see, we just need to transform our ability into performance, and that comes from here,” Zimbabwe coach Dav Whatmore has said.
A big positive for the home side has been the performance of their bowlers but they have been guilty of letting it slipt after building up pressure.
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