Published: Jun 30, 2015, 08:01 AM (IST)
Edited: Jun 30, 2015, 11:39 PM (IST)
Over the last decade or so, Zimbabwe have been going through their worst slump in international cricket. They had a horrid time at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, winning just one match out of six. One thing they have consistently done, though, is give their opponents a run for their money. With a ‘second-string’ Indian visiting their shores, Zimbabwe will fancy their chances, reckons Pramod Ananth.
Zimbabwe put up a good fight when they toured Pakistan recently. They lost the three-match One-Day International (ODI) series 0-2, but fought the hosts tooth and nail before succumbing. Elton Chigumbura scored a magnificent century in the first ODI but missed the remaining two matches due to suspension. He will be back to lead Zimbabwe in the series, which will be a major boost for them. READ: India tour of Zimbabwe 2015: Will the Ajinkya Rahane gamble work?
When one talk of ‘minnows’, Zimbabwe qualify in the same bracket. One of the reasons for Zimbabwe’s failure to win consistently has been the inability of their bowlers do not back up their batting. Very often the batsmen toil hard and get their teams to a good total but the bowlers hand the advantage back with inept performances. As a result, they end up losing. READ: India tour of Zimbabwe 2015: Sending a second-string side has more pros than cons
This time, however, Zimbabwe will go into the series against India all guns blazing. With Ajinkya Rahane leading the Indian side for the first time, the hosts will certainly fancy their chances. Rahane has not led his domestic side on a regular basis, and with several new faces in the Indian side, Rahane may not be able to get the best out of them. READ: India squad for Zimbabwe tour announced; Ajinkya Rahane to captain side
Zimbabwe will want their bowlers to back their batsmen. Tinashe Panyangara has often gotten his side to good starts with the ball. Sean Williams, with his slow left-arm spin, manages to keep things tight in the middle-overs as well. Unfortunately, they have not been supported well by the likes of Brian Vitori and Tawanda Mupiwara. Their bowling in the death overs too have not been something to boast about. READ: India tour of ZIM 2015: Shastri to skip series in favour of Ashes commitments
Zimbabwe need to turn things around and have to do it quickly. They are currently languishing in the 11th spot in the ICC ODI Rankings with 47 points, 3 points behind Ireland at 10th. They desperately need to start winning soon if they want the world to take them as a serious cricket team. Zimbabwe can take confidence from the fact that they had defeated a Suresh-Raina led team in 2010 when India toured. India lost both matches they played against Zimbabwe comprehensively but managed to salvage some pride by winning the T20I series.
Zimbabwe must grab this opportunity with both hands and go all guns blazing and win the series. With players like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Raina and Ishant Sharma among those who have been rested for this tour, Zimbabwe must raise to the occasion and look to make a statement against one of the best teams in the world.
India, too are coming off the back of a demoralising 1-2 series loss against Bangladesh and mat be a touch low on confidence — something that Zimbabwe can exploit.
(Pramod Ananth is a reporter at CricketCountry. He has represented Karnataka table tennis under-15, and is a hardcore supporter of Liverpool FC. His Twitter handle is @pramz)
