Toss India chose to bat vs Zimbabwe
India opted to bat first after winning the toss in an attempt to bounce back from being 1-0 down in the five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club. They had chosen to field first in the previous match and failed to chase down a target of 116.
In response to their previous result, India decided to bolster their batting lineup by excluding left-arm fast bowler Khaleel Ahmed and including left-handed top-order batsman B Sai Sudharsan, who received his T20I cap and became the fourth debutant in two games for India. This decision left India with only four main bowling options in addition to part-time spinners Abhishek Sharma and Riyan Parag. It is also uncertain whether Sudharsan will open the batting or play in the middle order.
Zimbabwe, on the other hand, stuck with the same playing XI. Captain Sikandar Raza mentioned that he would have chosen to bowl first even if he had won the toss, hinting that the pitch might improve for batting after a low-scoring series opener.
Zimbabwe: 1 Wessly Madhevere, 2 Innocent Kaia, 3 Brian Bennett, 4 Sikandar Raza (capt), 5 Dion Myers, 6 Johnathan Campbell, 7 Clive Madande (wk), 8 Wellington Masakadza, 9 Luke Jongwe, 10 Blessing Muzarabani, 11 Tendai Chatara.
India: 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill (capt), 3 Sai Sudharsan, 4 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 5 Riyan Parag, 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Dhruv Jurel (wk), 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Avesh Khan, 11 Mukesh Kumar.
