Recent form (recent first)
Zimbabwe – W L L L L
India – W W W W W
Head to Head
Zimbabwe 2 - 6 India
India won by 71 runs (2022)
Venue details (six T20Is since 2023)
Harare Sports Club, Harare
Average first innings score: 142
Bat first / Bat second split: All the six T20Is played here since 2023 have been won by the side batting second
Pace and spin split: Average 21.8 vs 20.2, Economy 7.3 vs 6.9, Percentage of wickets 60.8% vs 39.2%
Weather conditions
The weather in Harare for the first T20I is perfect for cricket. There is no forecast of rain on Saturday (July 6). The temperature is expected to be in the late 20s with only 14% humidity.
Players to watch out for
Sikandar Raza: The 38-year-old is Zimbabwe’s premier all-rounder. He is their highest run-scorer since 2023, scoring 688 runs, 342 more than the next best. He is also their second-highest socket-taker, picking 22 wickets at an economy of 6.7. The Zimbabwe skipper has won seven Player of the Match awards with no other Zimbabwean player winning it more than twice. It is obvious how important Raza is for Zimbabwe and your fantasy fortunes throughout this series.
Riyan Parag: The youngster from Assam has finally made it to the Indian squad after piling big scores in domestic cricket and the Indian Premier League. The 22-year-old was the highest run scorer in the previous edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (510 runs, 85 average 182.8 strike rate). He was also the highest top-scorer for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2024 (573 runs, 52.1 average, 149.2 strike rate)
Ravi Bishnoi: The leg-spinner wasn’t in the best form during IPL 2024. However, Zimbabwe batters have struggled to cope up against the leg-spinners. Since 2022, Zimbabwe, as a batting unit, average only 16.2 balls per dismissal. Against googlies, that number slumps to 14.3. Bishnoi bowls a heavy number of googlies and will be targeting the Zimbabwe batters with the same to hit form.
Cricket.com’s suggested Fantasy XI
Probable Playing XI
Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Sikandar Raza ( c ), Jonathan Campbell, Clive Madande (wk), Dion Myers, Brandon Mavuta, Luke Jongwe, Faraz Akram, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani
India: Shubman Gill ( c ), Abhishek Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed
Streaming and Telecast details
The match will begin at 4.30 PM IST on July 6 and will be streamed and telecasted on Sony Liv and Sony Sports
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