With the senior members of the Indian team taking rest from the Zim vs Ind series, the responsibility was on the young players of the country to take their game forward in the future. They have started blasting away, even after slipping from the first game of the series. But will the surface in Harare keep on getting slow?
The death overs (16-20) of the innings offer the teams a chance to finish well, whether with the ball or the bat. Many sides have started to use their power hitters for a particular period, while the bowlers have learned the art of using variations, whether it’s the slow ball, the slow bouncer, or the wide yorkers.
Since the start of 2023, before the Zim vs Ind series, when it comes to the last five overs of the batting, the Indian team has managed to get 1514 T20I runs in 32 innings, at an average of under 23, and a strike rate of around 175.23, which is quite phenomenal at this point of time.
The Shubman Gill-led side has also lost only 67 wickets in this period in 32 innings, which is quite natural as the batters tend to go after every single ball of the phase. They have also smacked 112 boundaries and 97 sixes in this period, with a best of 103 runs coming in this last five-overs phase.
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Zimbabwe, on the other hand, before the Zim vs Ind series, has collected 1195 runs at the death in 28 innings, at an average of under 21 and a strike rate of 161, besides losing 57 wickets. They have also smacked 101 boundaries and 59 sixes in this period.
In the case of the bowling department, from the beginning of 2023, the Indian side has been able to pick up 84 wickets in 33 innings, at an average of 16.31, giving away 1370 T20I runs, at a strike rate of 10.57, which is quite brilliant. The economy level of just over nine too has been a reason why they have been ahead in the last few overs.
In the case of the Zimbabwe side, they have picked up 68 wickets during the last five overs, in 29 innings, at an average of 15.35, and a strike rate of under 12, while the economy rate of 8.16 is quite amazing.
The Indian team has been smashed for 92 boundaries and 77 sixes in this period, while the Zimbabwe bowlers have gone for 84 fours and 37 over boundaries at the death phase of the game.
ZIM vs IND Weather Report And Pitch Report- 3rd T20I, India tour of Zimbabwe 2024
The afternoon temperature in Harare during the Zim vs Ind game is expected to be around 26 degrees Celsius, with no chance of either rain or dew, making the bowling quite easy for the spinners especially. The sun beating down could make the track slow and that means the team winning the toss could look to bat first.
| ZIM vs IND Weather Forecast | |
| Temperature | 26-degree Celsius |
| Weather Forecast | Sunny and Pleasant |
| Dew Point | -6-degree Celsius |
| Humidity Level | 13% |
| Cloud Cover | 0% |
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ZIM vs IND Pitch Report
The first innings score in the last decade during the shortest format of the game at the Harare Sports Club has been around 150, with the Indian team reaching 234 in their last game, before destroying the Zimbabwe side for 134. The first game of the series was a low-scoring triller, where the hosts defended 115 runs.
The team winning the toss mostly has looked to bat first, so that once the track gets slowed down, they could use the dryness and the slow pace of the track, to deny the free-flowing shot hitting off the batters.
The leg-spinners have loved bowling on this surface. Ravi Bishnoi has been excellent in this ongoing Zim vs Ind series, with his pace, while the genuine pacers too have a weapon against the batters.
Sikandar Raza is the second-highest T20I run-getter on this ground with around 400 T20I runs, while Luke Jongwe has been excellent with around 30 T20I wickets in the shortest format of the game in Harare.