On their previous trip here, another depleted Indian team, captained by Suresh Raina, lost both its matches to Zimbabwe in a tri-series which also featured familiar foes Sri Lanka. The Indians, being led by Virat Kohli this time after MS Dhoni was rested, would do well to revise the lessons of that trip before taking the field tomorrow.
Zimbabwe may not be too big a force to reckon with in international cricket but can be a handful for an under-strength team. And India can be called a depleted side given that top spinner R Ashwin, and frontline pacer Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav would also be missing from action apart from Dhoni.
"All along we've prepared and hoped we might surprise them in one of the games," Zimbabwe coach Andy Waller has stated.
"You've got to be realistic, but as long as we're competitive and do the best we can. Our guys are hugely excited about this. It's a great experience for them, and we've been preparing knowing that the best side in the world are coming," he added.
The Indian batting would revolve around the likes of Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. Rohit has blossomed in the opening role and would look to strengthen his position with some good knocks here.
In fact, Shikhar and Rohit average 57.72 in partnership and have put together three century stands so far. Cheteshwar Pujara would lend stability to the middle order where Suresh Raina will also have an important role to play. Raina would look to wipe off the memories of the previous tour's debacle under his captaincy.
India's bowling attack has an all-new look to it with the duo of Shami Ahmed and rookie Mohit Sharma comprising the pace department, aiming to earn some brownie points for themselves. Vinay Kumar and Jaydev Unadkat are the other speedsters in the squad.
The spin attack would feature debutant Parveez Rasool, the first cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir to get the national selectors' nod, and the experienced Amit Mishra. Dinesh Karthik would don the gloves behind the stumps in Dhoni's absence.
The Brendon Taylor-led Zimbabwean team, which has been training for the series for the last two months, is devoid of any major stars.
Taylor is their star in the batting department and has the best record against India in ODIs, with 184 runs at an average of 46 in four games.
The squad features five seamers, including Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara, Brian Vitori, Elton Chigumbura and the uncapped Michael Chinouya.
A look at overall record would make India the favourites as Zimbabwe have only beaten them 10 times out of the 51 ODIs played between the two sides.
Squads
India: Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Cheteshwar Pujara, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Parveez Rasool, Shami Ahmed, R Vinay Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohit Sharma.
Zimbabwe: Brendan Taylor (captain and wicketkeeper), Sikandar Raza, Tendai Chatara, Michael Chinouya, Elton Chigumbura, Graeme Cremer, Kyle Jarvis, Timycen Maruma, Hamilton Masakadza, Natsai M'shangwe, Tinotenda Mutombodzi, Vusimuzi Sibanda, Prosper Utseya, Brian Vitori, Malcolm Waller, Sean Williams.
India out to have fun against Zim :
India's players are seeking a more relaxing time on their five-match ODI tour to coach Duncan Fletcher's home country of Zimbabwe following a "hectic" — and successful — two months.The Champions Trophy winners have been busy and Fletcher will use the limited-overs series against lowly ranked Zimbabwe from Wednesday to allow some new players to stake their claims under the leadership of stand-in captain Virat Kohli, who replaced the rested Mahendra Singh Dhoni for the trip.
"The past two months have been hectic, too much nerve-wracking stuff happened," Fletcher said late Monday at a dinner to welcome the visitors.
"We are looking forward to a less intense tour here.
"I'm sure fans will enjoy the games."
India won the Champions Trophy and a recent triangular series final in West Indies by slim margins, and has been playing non-stop in England and the Caribbean for nearly two months.
The switch to a more laid back atmosphere was evident at the squad's first training session in Harare, where players kicked a football about and laughed and joked for much of the workout.
"We are happy to be in Zimbabwe and also looking forward to having a good time out here," Kohli said.
"I believe that the games will be competitive.
"Our squad is a young one but we are out here to have fun."
Behind the care-free attitude, there is an important objective for India's future with five players in line to possibly make their debuts and graduate to first-team reckoning.
New talent Parvez Rasool, Mohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Jaydev Unadkat and Ambati Rayudu are all out to pass their early examinations.
Zimbabwe will be under new coach Andy Waller for the first time, and will throw everything into its attempt to upset the top-ranked one-day team and World Cup champion in a rare shot at one of cricket's big teams.
"Guys are hugely excited by this," Waller, a former Zimbabwe international, said.
"It's a great experience to them, hopefully all the hard work we put in last month is just going to pay off."
While India has reached peak ODI form and won 10 of its last 12 matches, the 10th-ranked Zimbabwe last played a 50-over international in early May.
We might surprise India in one game: Zim coach :
India may have rested captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, leading spinner R Ashwin and seamers Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, but Zimbabwe's new coach Andy Waller expects their replacements to prove equally threatening."All along we've prepared with the hope that we might surprise them in one of the games - we have to be realistic, and look to be competitive and do the best that we can," Waller said.
"India have got so many cricket players that I don't think there's a huge difference between the guys who have come in and some of the players they've left out."
Zimbabwe go into Wednesday's game at Harare Sports Club with their most settled batting line-up in many years, having been boosted by Sean Williams' performances in the middle order during their series victory over Bangladesh.
Williams has overcome a minor injury that kept him out of a three-day match against Australia A last week, which a Zimbabwe Select XI lost by 80 runs.
"Our top six are settled," Waller said. "The guys are hugely excited about this. We've been preparing knowing that the best side in the world are coming."
While India's squad for this series may be short on experience, they will not lack for motivation having gained the opportunity to press for more regular inclusion in the future.
Seamer Jaydev Unadkat and batsmen Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have been brought in, along with uncapped players Parvez Rasool and Mohit Sharma.
Even the more senior players will have something to prove, with Virat Kohli hoping to showcase his captaincy credentials as he leads the side in Dhoni's absence.
"You need eleven players who are hungry for success, who are hardworking and whose vision is victory," Kohli said. "All fifteen players are strong and it is a strong unit, which is good.He said: "All along we've prepared and hoped we might surprise them in one of the games. You've got to be realistic, but as long as we're competitive and do the best we can.
"Our guys are hugely excited about this. It's a great experience for them, and we've been preparing knowing that the best side in the world are coming.
"I think the guys are up for it. Hopefully all the hard work we've put in the last nine weeks is going to pay off."
The main hope for Zimbabwe comes from the make-up of the India squad, which is missing captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and regular bowlers Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravichandran Ashwin.
Virat Kohli will captain the side while new faces Parvez Rasool and Mohit Sharma are in line to make their India debuts.
Waller is reluctant to view the squad as under strength, though, saying: "I think they've just got so many players.
"With the new guys who've come in, I don't think there's a huge difference to be honest.
"We know that they're all very good cricketers, so we don't look at it like a weakened attack at all."
Zim in batting concerns as India arrive
Zimbabwe were exposed against both seas and spin with Australia A needing just one session of the third day on Saturday to wrap up an 80-run victory, after setting them a gettable target of 241 runs to win.
In two successive innings, Zimbabwe’s batsmen failed to post a total in excess of 200 after being bundled out for 142 and 160 in both innings respectively.
Hamilton Masakadza was the only batsman to record a half-century in the match with night watchman Kyle Jarvis’ fighting 34 in the second innings, the second best contribution with the bat in both innings.
While Zimbabwe’s batting department looked out of sorts, their seam bowling department provided the silver lining with a promising display against a strong Australian line-up featuring four capped Test players.
The pace trio of Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara and Elton Chigumbura showed very good form, claiming 17 of the 20 Australia A wickets to fall in both innings.
In an interview with NewsDay Sport yesterday, national team captain Brendan Taylor praised the bowlers for putting up a strong display, but admitted that the batsmen needed to step up if Zimbabwe are to do well against India.
“Obviously the result didn’t go the way we would have wanted, but the match against Australia was definitely a good workout ahead of the India series,” said Taylor.
“The bowlers were excellent against a very strong batting department, managing to restrict them to small totals in both innings and can take some positives from that ahead of the India series.
“Unfortunately our batting was not as good and we didn’t manage to get the runs as we would have liked, but the match practice was important for us and can only take us forward going into the India series,” said Taylor.
India arrived in Harare yesterday evening ahead of the first ODI on Wednesday and Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) communications manager Lovemore Banda said his organisation was ready to make the best out of this tour.
“We have left no stone unturned in our preparations,” said Banda, adding: “It is not every day that we host India and so we are doing our best to ensure that we derive maximum benefits from the tour.”ZC will host a dinner at a Harare hotel this evening, and cricket fans are expected to buy tickets for the function for an opportunity to mix with the world champions.
Tomorrow, the India squad will conduct a coaching clinic for first-team players from 11 Harare schools, in a new ZC development initiative dubbed the Future Zimbabwe Stars Programme, which will see local and visiting national teams going out to help school cricketers with their game.
Young Players to look out for :
India are currently ranked No. 1 in ODIs and one of the hallmarks of a top-ranking side over time is the quality of bench strength. While India get ready to play Zimbabwe without some of their senior players, it's a good opportunity for some of the newcomers to perform and prove that the team's DNA is not dependent on a few individuals, but is a high-performance culture that runs deep. I am reminded of the quadrangular series between England, Zimbabwe, Australia A and Australia in 1994-95, where the finals were contested by the two Australian sides. That showed to the world that Australia's second XI was better than many international sides. India can learn a thing or two from that series as they aim to build an ODI team for the future. Over to the youngsters.Parvez RasoolThe offspinning allrounder from Jammu and Kashmir has made it to the team on the back of consistent performances in the domestic season. Rasool will be looking to ease himself into the international scene in Zimbabwe, where the pressure on him to deliver would be lesser. He's had a taste of the highest level, having played against the touring English and Australian sides recently.If Rasool clicks, India would have found someone to share the spinners' workload with R Ashwin. Rasool's partnership with Ravindra Jadeja, who turns the ball the other way, will make for interesting viewing in the middle overs.Mohit SharmaMohit Sharma's rise to the top was fast-tracked by his 2013 IPL season for the Chennai Super Kings. Mohit's key strength is the ball that goes away, and he bowls an impressive attacking line. He was handled well by MS Dhoni in the IPL, and that surely played a part in his success. Having Mohit and Bhuvneshwar Kumar - a swing bowler who bowls at a lesser pace - bowling in tandem will give India an edge with the new ball.Cheteshwar PujaraIndia's new-found performance man in Test cricket finally gets a chance to shine in the shorter format. Despite a tremendous List A average of 56.97, Pujara has unfairly been labelled as a slow run-getter. Given his recent successes, there's no question over his technique on tricky wickets or against good quality seam bowling. In recent times, India have missed a sheet anchor in ODI cricket, and with two new balls coming into play, Pujara could be just the man for them.Jaydev UnadkatUnadkat sure knows the demands of international cricket, having endured a forgettable Test debut in South Africa in late 2010. He is a vastly improved bowler now, and has forced his way back into the set-up with consistent IPL performances. He has also had very successful A tours in New Zealand and England in the last couple of years. Zimbabwe's spongy bounce could be helpful to his style of bowling, which relies on hitting the seam more often than not. His inclusion brings variety to India's inexperienced seam-bowling group.Ambati RayuduHaving been one of the lynchpins of Mumbai Indians' renaissance since IPL 3, Rayudu's chance to represent the India team comes at just about the right time. He will lend depth to the middle order, and in Dhoni's absence, could slot in as a finisher. Dinesh Karthik is likely to be India's first-choice wicketkeeper, which could work against Rayudu. But if he gets a look-in, possibly ahead of Ajinkya Rahane, he should make it count.
India in the Land of Robert Mugabe: A brief
ODI history :
1992-93 - India won 1-0
India first played an ODI in Zimbabwe on a short tour in 1992-93, which also comprised one Test match. Mohammad Azharuddin's side won the one-off ODI comfortably by 30 runs at the Harare Sports Club with Sanjay Manjrekar's run-a-ball 70 propping up the tourists to 239 after they lost their openers with one run on the board. In reply, Javagal Srinath took three wickets as India's bowlers kept Zimbabwe to 209 in 49.1 overs.1996-97 - Zimbabwe won 1-0
Four years on, Zimbabwe were victors in a short series. The hosts won the first match by eight wickets and the second was abandoned. At Bulawayo on February 15, 1997 the home team kept India to 168 in 43.5 overs with Heath Streak taking 5 for 32, and a revised target of 136 was achieved with 73 deliveries and eight wickets in hand.1998-99 - India won 2-1
This time the series comprised three matches. Sachin Tendulkar's 127* off 130 balls made short work of a target of 214 in the opener at Bulawayo and the series was wrapped up a day later as Sourav Ganguly struck 107* in another eight-wicket win. Inspired by Craig Wishart (102), Zimbabwe won the dead rubber at Harare by 37 runs.2001 - India lost tri-series final to West Indies
Tendulkar's unbeaten 70 helped India get off to a good start in the Coca Cola Cup as Zimbabwe were beaten by nine wickets at Harare. Zaheer Khan then took 4 for 42 as India made it two wins in a row over Zimbabwe at Bulawayo. A hat-trick of wins was achieved as Tendulkar's 81 not out helped India beat West Indies by six wickets at Bulawayo. Tendulkar's irresistible form continued in India's fourth match as his unbeaten 122 saw India beat West Indies by six wickets in Harare. But in the final, Tendulkar's form ran out and India were beaten by 16 runs.2003 World Cup - India beat Zimbabwe
Ganguly's team motored to a comfortable win over the hosts at Harare, with Tendulkar (81) top-scoring out of a total of 255 for 7. Ganguly then took 3 for 22.2005 - India lost tri-series final to New Zealand
India started the Videocon Cup in August 2005 with a 51-run loss to New Zealand at Bulawayo, but inspired by Irfan Pathan's 5 for 27 they trounced Zimbabwe by 161 runs at Harare to make a resounding comeback. In the third match, Mohammad Kaif's unbeaten 102 helped India chase 279 against New Zealand with six wickets and 15 balls remaining. They then made it three wins in a row by beating Zimbabwe by four wickets at Harare, this time thanks to a century from Yuvraj Singh. In the final, India were beaten by New Zealand with Nathan Astle scoring 115 not out in a six-wicket win.2010 - India failed to reach final of tri-series
In the summer of 2010, a second-string Indian side led by Suresh Raina contested a tri-series in Zimbabwe. In the series opener at Bulawayo, Rohit Sharma scored his maiden ODI century to drive India to 285 for 5 but the hosts won by six wickets. Two days later, however, India beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets thanks to Rohit's 101* off 100 balls. A second defeat to Zimbabwe, this time by seven wickets at Harare, left India in danger of being eliminated from the series. India were knocked out of the contest by Sri Lanka on June 5. It marked the end of a disappointing tour.