India starts their Zimbabwe tour tomorrow with the First ODI which will be played in Harare.
The humiliating series defeat which they suffered in the hands of Bangladesh is quiet fresh and if they suffer another series loss in the hands of Zimbabwe, it will only add to their misery.
Surely this thought will be in the back of their minds as they prepare to take on the African nation.
The Indians cannot afford to have any room for complacency and under any circumstances they should do the mistake of underestimating the opposition.
Here is a list of 5 Zimbabwe players whom India has to watch out for:
1) Sikandar Raza:
Raza has become one of the prime faces of Zimbabwean batting now. He is an adventurous batsman who likes to carve the ball to all parts of the ground and has the potential to destroy any opposition single handedly. His ability to play wide range of shots and knack of scoring loads of runs once he gets settled is his plus point.
The emphatic century he scored against Pakistan in Lahore in the 2nd ODI of the series was worth watching as he smashed the rival bowlers brutally and made his way to a spectacular hundred. Clearly, if he is allowed to stay on the crease for long, he will aim to big which can create a lot of problems for the Indian bowlers, especially in the slog overs.
2) Hamilton Masakadza
One of the most experienced campaigners in the Zimbabwean squad. Masakadza has played 153 matches and has over 4000 international runs in ODIs for Zimbabwe. His vast career experience, especially playing against India will come in use when they play India in their own backward. He provides stability to the batting by featuring in the middle order and also bowls medium pace at times.
This 31 year old all-rounder is a crucial part of the Zimbabwean squad and his performance in this series will be play an assertive role in deciding Zimbabwe’s fate.
3) Sean Williams
Another experienced all-rounder playing for Zimbabwe, he comes to bat in the middle order but his batting position is quiet a tricky one. He might come in a situation where he needs stay at the crease and drive forward the Zimbabwean innings or come towards the end and have to accelerate and look for some quick runs. Then he has to contribute to the bowling with his left arm spin.
Either way, Williams is an essential part in the Zimbabwean side with his all-rounder abilities.
4) Elton Chigumbura
The skipper of Zimbabwe, will be endowed with a lot of responsibilities in this upcoming tour.
Besides leading his team, his services will be required in the batting, bowling and fielding departments. One of the most hard-hitting batsman in his team, loves to play lofty shots. Besides that, he is also a medium pace bowler and an athletic fielder.
It will be interesting to see how he carries out so many tasks, not to mention the additional role of leading the team against India, he is the key player for his team in the upcoming series.
5) Brain Vittori
The 22 year old left arm pacer, bowls with an accurate line and length. His bowling will be quiet essential in restricting the Indian top order and in the death overs.
The Indians should be cautious of him as there is a chance of he becoming the “Mustafizur” for Zimbabwe.