Published: Jun 18, 2016, 04:34 PM (IST)
Edited: Jun 18, 2016, 05:00 PM (IST)
Five Indian players are making their debut in Twenty20 international (T20Is) in the first game of the the three-match series against Zimbabwe. These cricketers are Rishi Dhawan, Jaydev Unadkat, KL Rahul, Mandeeep Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal. India having won the One-Day International series comprehensively have the leeway to make some big changes in the T20Is. It will be interesting to witness how the debutants perform for India. Zimbabwe would want to take this opportunity to give India a tough fight against the new looking Indian side. The team winning the first match will gain a slight psychological edge going into the remaining games. Live Cricket Scorecard: Zimbabwe vs India, 1st T20I, at Harare
The most debutants by India were in their first T20I which they played against South Africa way back in December 2006. These 11 players were Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Dinesh Mongia, MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar and Sreesanth. India are certainly hot favourites in this match. After a good show in the 50-over games with a second-string side, they would be hoping to repeat the same in the smallest version of the game. India will be happy that even without their best players, they have been able to play exceedingly well in the tour so far. But it has been more due to the weakness of the opposition. Live Updates: India vs Zimbabwe 2016, Live Cricket Score, 1st T20I at Harare
A lot is at stake for Zimbabwe in this game. They need to play better cricket and strive for a better show this time around. Having been down and out in the ODI series, they are low on confidence, but the best thing for them will be to put the things behind and fight hard in the T20Is.
