Zimbabwe vs India Match Preview, 4th T20I

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India and Zimbabwe square off in the highly-anticipated fourth T20I on Saturday, July 13, at the Harare Sports Club, Harare. The Men in Blue have come from behind and taken a 2-1 lead and will look to seal the five-match series with a win on Saturday.

Zimbabwe won the first T20I by 13 runs in what turned out to be a riveting low-scoring contest. However, the young Indian side didn’t show any signs of nerves in the second game as they amassed 234/2 before dismissing the hosts for 134. The third T20I saw Zimbabwe putting on a valiant effort with the bat as they went down by 23 runs, chasing a target of 183.

For Zimbabwe, their fielding has been quite ordinary as they have leaked a lot of runs and dropped some important catches. The third T20I could have gone their way or at least the margin of defeat could have been lesser had they been more alert on the field. Blessing Muzarabani has been the best bowler on show for the home side, having picked up four wickets in three games at an average of 18 and an economy rate of 6. However, the other bowlers haven’t been able to provide adequate support.

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Dion Myers scored a gutsy half-century in the last game and the likes of Wesley Madhevere, Brian Bennett, and Clive Madande have played some decent knocks. However, they haven’t been able to click as a unit. The batting form of captain Sikandar Raza has been abysmal and that hasn’t helped Zimbabwe’s cause.

India, on the other hand, have a lot of batters who are in form. Abhishek Sharma scored a blistering century in the second T20I. Ruturaj Gaikwad got out early in the first game but bounced back with scores of 77* (47) and 49 (28) in the next two games, respectively. Rinku Singh also played a fine hand in the second game and the addition of the trio of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, and Shivam Dube has bolstered the team appreciably.

Ravi Bishnoi and Washington Sundar have spun a web around the Zimbabwean batters. While the leg-spinner proved to be expensive in the third T20I, the Tamil Nadu all-rounder was adjudged Player of the Match for registering excellent figures of 3/15 in his four overs. Avesh Khan, Sundar, and Bishnoi are the joint-highest wicket-takers in the series, having bagged six wickets each.

For Zimbabwe, Wesley Madhevere will look to play the role of an anchor. Meanwhile, Brian Bennett has looked in fine touch in the couple of knocks he has played. Sikandar Raza failed in the first two games with the willow and he will want to get back among the runs on Saturday. Blessing Muzarabani has been the best bowler across the first couple of games for the hosts and would hope to cause some more problems for the Indian batters in the upcoming contest.

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