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ToggleIn the head-to-head clashes of the shortest format of the game, the Indian team is ahead with a 6-2 margin in the eight encounters these two teams have between them. In the last ZIM vs Ind T20I, which was also part of the Men’s T20 World Cup 2022, the Indian team had an easy win over the opponents with a 73-run margin.
The new ongoing generation of the T20I shows the importance of the powerplay (1-6) where the batters generally look to take charge against the new ball, without any fear, and once it comes off, they try to capitalize from that position to get the team to a huge score, at the end of the 20-overs.
When it comes to how the India team has batted in this period, in the last two years, going into the Zim vs Ind series, they have belted the opposition for 3333 T20I runs in 73 innings in the first six overs, at an average of under 30, but a fruitful strike rate of 128.
They also went with the same template in the recently finished T20 World Cup 2024, where it was mostly Rohit Sharma, the leader of the pack, who was taking on the opponent bowlers to nail a few good scores to keep in the momentum always with them. Even when he was getting dismissed, the other batters too kept on doing the same.
The question is whether the young India side, under the captaincy of Shubman Gill, will go with the same mindset. In those last two years, before the Zim vs Ind encounter, they have lost 115 wickets in the powerplay in 73 innings, which isn’t that bad, besides going after 370 boundaries and 149 sixes in this period.
Zimbabwe on the other hand had been average when it comes to their batting department in the powerplay. The Sikandar Raza-led side, before their home T20I series in Zim vs Ind, have smashed 2068 runs in 54 innings, at an average of under 20, and a strike rate of 106.38, which isn’t that good compared to how the other teams have been going in this period.
They have also seen the back of 107 wickets in this timeline, which is quite a huge number in 54 innings. That’s around two wickets in the powerplay, and that means the team always finds themselves behind the eighth ball to recover themselves.
They have smashed 253 boundaries and only 50 sixes in this period, during the powerplay. In 53 innings, that’s not even one six in a game, and that shows how badly they need to work on their powerplay batting.
ZIM vs IND Head-to-Head Records
| Matches Played | 08 |
| Zimbabwe Won | 02 |
| India Won | 06 |
| No Result | 00 |
| First Played | June 11, 2010 |
| Last Played | November 06, 2022 |
ZIM vs IND Probable XI:
Zimbabwe
ZIM Probable XI: Milton Shumba, Jonathan Campbell, Innocent Kaia, Dion Mayers, Sikandar Raza (c), Clive Madande, Juke Jongwe, Wellington Masakadza, Tendai Chatara, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava.
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India
India Probable XI: Shubman Gill (c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag, Jitesh Sharma (wk.), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mukhesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshit Rana.
ZIM vs IND Best Players Prediction
Best Batter Prediction: Ruturaj Gaikwad
The opening batter Ruturaj Gaikwad is expected to be in great touch in the first Zim vs Ind T20I game, where he will show his caliber with the bat. He has already been part of the India team in 19 T20Is, having scored 500 runs at a strike rate of 141, with three fifties and one century.
Best Bowler Prediction: Ravi Bishnoi
Ravi Bishnoi, once a top-ranked T20I bowler, before being dropped from the T20 World Cup, could display his skills in the T20I series. The leg-spinner has 36 wickets in 24 T20Is at an economy of 7.50, with an average of under 20.
ZIM vs IND Match Winner Prediction
Even though Zimbabwe could give a tight contest to the young India side, the touring team should come up on top at the end of the game.