Published: Mar 13, 2015, 01:15 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 13, 2015, 03:00 PM (IST)
India and Zimbabwe will play their final match of the group stage of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 at the Eden Park, Auckland on March 14, 2015. Bharath Seervi does a statistical preview of the match. READ Match Preview: India vs Zimbabwe
The 39th match of the ICC World Cup 2015 between India and Zimbabwe will not be having any effect on the points table. India have won all their first five matches and are at the top of the table with 10 points. Zimbabwe, on the other hand, have won only one of their five and are out of the tournament. India will remain at the top of the table and Zimbabwe will remain out of top four whatever may be the result. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: POINTS TABLE
Zimbabwe’s only victory of the tournament came against UAE while they lost against South Africa, West Indies, Pakistan and Ireland. They came close to win against Ireland (lost by 5 runs) and Pakistan (lost by 20 runs). They put up a good performance against South Africa as well. West Indies was the only team that defeated them without serious effort thanks to Chris Gayle’s double century.
Zimbabwe’s progress in the tournament
| Date | Venue | Result |
| 15-Feb-15 | Hamilton | South Africa 339/4 (50) beat Zimbabwe 277 (48.2) by 62 runs |
| 19-Feb-15 | Nelson | UAE 285/7 (50) lost to Zimbabwe 286/6 (48) by 4 wickets |
| 24-Feb-15 | Canberra | West Indies 372/2 (50) beat Zimbabwe 289 (44.3) by 73 runs (D/L method) |
| 1-Mar-15 | Brisbane | Pakistan 235/7 (50) beat Zimbabwe 215 (49.4) by 20 runs |
| 7-Mar-15 | Hobart | Ireland 331/8 (50) beat Zimbabwe 326 (49.3) by 5 runs |
– Zimbabwe batted second in all their five matches in the tournament so far. They were bowled out in all the four matches they lost. Top 10 batsmen in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
India’s progress in the tournament
| Date | Venue | Result |
| 16-Feb-15 | Nelson | West Indies 304/7 (50) lost to Ireland 307/6 (45.5) by 4 wickets |
| 25-Feb-15 | Brisbane | UAE 278/9 (50) lost to Ireland 279/8 (49.2) by 2 wickets |
| 3-Mar-15 | Canberra | South Africa 411/4 (50) beat Ireland 210 (45) by 201 runs |
| 7-Mar-15 | Hobart | Ireland 331/8 (50) beat Zimbabwe 326 (49.3) by 5 runs |
| 10-Mar-15 | Hamilton | Ireland 259 (49) lost to India 260/2 (36.5) by 8 wickets |
Let us see who are the top batsmen and bowlers for both the teams so far in the tournament. Top 10 bowlers in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
Highest run getters:
For India: Shikhar Dhawan (333 runs)
For Zimbabwe: Brendan Taylor (295 runs)
Highest wicket-takers:
For India: Mohammed Shami (12 wickets)
For Zimbabwe: Tendai Chatara (10 wickets)
Highest individual scores:
For India: Shikhar Dhawan (137 vs Pakistan)
For Zimbabwe: Brendan Taylor (121 vs Ireland)
Best bowling figures:
For India: Ravichandran Ashwin (4/25 vs UAE)
For Zimbabwe: Tendai Chatara (3/35 vs Pakistan)
We have gone through the form of the team and the players in this tournament. Now let us see the head-to-head records between both the teams in World Cups and overall ODIs. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: SCHEDULE & MATCH DETAILS
India vs Zimbabwe — in World Cups
The teams have met eight times in World Cups since 1983. India won on seven occasions whereas Zimbabwe found one victory —in 1999.
| Date | Venue | Scores | Result | Man of the Match |
| 11-Jun-83 | Leicester | Zimbabwe 155 (51.4), India 157/5 (37.3) | India won by 5 wickets | Madan Lal |
| 18-Jun-83 | Tunbridge Wells | India 266/8 (60), Zimbabwe 235 (57) | India won by 31 runs | Kapil Dev |
| 17-Oct-87 | Mumbai (WS) | Zimbabwe 135 (44.2), India 136/2 (27.5) | India won by 8 wickets | Manoj Prabhakar |
| 26-Oct-87 | Ahmedabad | Zimbabwe 191/7 (50), India 194/3 (42) | India won by 7 wickets | Kapil Dev |
| 7-Mar-92 | Hamilton | India 203/7 (32), Zimbabwe 104/1 (19.1) | India won by 55 runs | Sachin Tendulkar |
| 6-Mar-96 | Kanpur | India 247/5 (50), Zimbabwe 207 (49.4) | India won by 40 runs | Ajay Jadeja |
| 19-May-99 | Leicester | Zimbabwe 252/9 (50), India 249 (45) | Zimbabwe won by 3 runs | Grant Flower |
| 19-Feb-03 | Harare | India 255/7 (50), Zimbabwe 172 (44.4) | India won by 83 runs | Sachin Tendulkar |
– Kapil Dev and Sachin Tendulkar have been named Man of the Match twice each.
– Five matches were played won by the teams batting first and three by the team batting second. Top 10 fielders in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
Let us look back at the Prudential Cup 1983 match between India and Zimbabwe in which Kapil Dev recorded 175 not out in 138 balls at Tunbridge Wells.
In the 1983 World Cup, India won the toss and decided to bat. But the decision turned out to be a blunder. India soon collapsed to 9 for four and 17 for five. Sunil Gavaskar, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Mohinder Amarnath, Sandeep Patil and Yashpal Sharma all went back to the pavilion. Top 10 wicketkeepers in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
Kapil Dev then played one of the greatest One-Day International (ODI) innings of all time and easily the best in the World Cup history. He shared important partnerships of 60 runs for the sixth wicket with Roger Binny, 62 runs for the eighth wicket with Madan Lal and an unbeaten 122 runs for the ninth wicket. India reached 266 for nine in the 60 overs and Kapil Dev finished with an unbeaten 175 off 138 balls with 16 fours and six sixes. He scored his century in 72 balls. India won by the match by 31 runs and then lifted the trophy at Lord’s on June 25.
Records by Kapil Dev in his inning of 175* (138):
– It was the first century by an Indian in One Day Internationals (ODIs).
– It was the highest individual score in World Cups that remained an Indian record for until Sourav Ganguly scored 183 against Sri Lanka at Taunton in 1999.
– The century in 72 balls is still the fastest by an Indian in World Cups and remained the fastest by anyone in World Cups till John Davison smashed century in 67 balls for Canada against West Indies in 2003.
– Kapil became only the second player to hit 6 sixes in an ODI and the first to do in World Cups. Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh are the only other Indians to hit six or more sixes in a World Cup innings. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Pool-wise Team Standings
India vs Zimbabwe – Head to Head
| Format | Played | India won | Zimbabwe won | Tied |
| In India | 19 | 15 | 3 | 1 |
| In Zimbabwe | 17 | 13 | 4 | 0 |
| Neutral Venues | 20 | 16 | 3 | 1 |
| In World Cup | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| Overall ODIs | 56 | 44 | 10 | 2 |
The teams have met in only nine ODIs in the past ten years.
Footnote stat:
Sachin Tendulkar scored 81 runs against Zimbabwe in Cricket World Cup 1992 and 2003. It is the highest identical score by a batsman against the same team in World Cup cricket. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Complete Coverage
(Bharath Seervi is a cricket statistician who is obsessed with digging numbers, facts and records related to the game. An active member of Society of Cricket Statisticians of India, he blogs at www.cricketseervistats.blogspot.com. He can be followed on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SeerviBharath and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SeerviCricket)
