The young Indian brigade is ready to take on Zimbabwe after rattling them in the first ODI at Harare Sports Club. Clinical performance of KL Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, and Jasprit Bumrah ensured India to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Now in the second ODI captain, MS Dhoni’s men would like to complete the series victory on Monday.
India in the first match bundle out the host for 168 and won the match with nine wickets in hand. Bumrah’s impressive form continued while Rahul’s ODI debut hundred drew praise from all quarter of Indian cricket fraternity.
Ambati Rayudu exploits the moment as he played many balls to score his half-century but wisely used his innings as much needed match practice.
Rayudu played the second fiddle with a 120 balls 62 which was studded with five boundaries. This innings helped him to gain the confidence in this series after a lean patch in Indian Premier League.
He last time played for India in 2015 when South Africa bruised India with a 3-2 ODI series victory.
Rayudu was part of India 2013 Zimbabwe tour when India won the series 5-0 and 2015 3-0. This time, too it is expected that Dhoni’s young blokes will win the series 3-0.
Zimbabwe coach Makhaya’s Ntini has already threatened India to teach a lesson as India sent a second string team for the series.
Bowlers like Dhawal Kulkarni, Axar Patel, and Barinder Sran bowled well in the last match. In the second match, Zimbabwe will try to fight back to keep up their hope till the last match.
Batsman Manish Pandey , who played for India in Australia where helped India to win a match, is hungry to prove himself in limited over cricket and cement his position in the ODI team as India’s middle order seems feeble with Suresh Raina is not in his best form. So Pandey will have a good opportunity to play for India in future if he plays well in this series.
However, Karun Nair, who failed to cope with the new ball in the last match, likely to fight back in this match to prove himself in front of MS Dhoni.
It will be interesting to watch whether Dhoni changes his playing XI or keep the same XI of the first match for the second ODI. Young player Jayant Yadav, Faiz Faisal, batsman Mandeep Singh, who warmed the bench in the first game have warmed the bench in the last match. In the second match, they possibly will not get a chance as the T20 series may get a new team.
Captain Dhoni himself has a big task to prove himself if he gets a chance to bat.
Predicted XI: India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C and WK), KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Manish Pandey, Ambati Rayudu, Mandeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Dhawal Kulkarni, Axar Patel, Barinder Sran.
Time: 9 am local time, 12.30 IST
Where to watch: Ten Sports