Team India will face Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club on Sunday, July 26 in the third and final T20I of the series. The Men in Blue have already clinched the series by winning the first two matches. They beat Zimbabwe by seven wickets in the first T20I and followed it up with a 90-run victory on Saturday in the second match.
Sent into bat in the second T20I, Team India posted 219-5 on the board in their 20 overs. They lost a couple of wickets early, but the middle order fought back brilliantly to take them close to the 220-run mark. In the chase, Zimbabwe were knocked over for 129 in 17.5 overs.
Pacer Prince Yadav got injured while bowling in the second T20I against Zimbabwe and skipper Shreyas Iyer subsequently hinted that there could be some changes to their playing XI for the third T20I. On that note, let's take a look at the predicted playing XI for the dead rubber on Sunday.
After hammering a scintillating fifty in the first T20I against Zimbabwe, Team India opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi smashed a quick-fire 20 off nine balls on Saturday. The southpaw hit three fours and a six before completely miscuing a pull shot off Richard Ngarava's bowling.
Abhishek Sharma registered another low score in the second T20I against Zimbabwe. The southpaw was dismissed for a run-a-ball eight as he punched a back of length delivery from Blessing Muzarabani to backward point. However, he impressed with his left-arm spin, claiming 3-17 in 2.5 overs.
Wicketkeeper batter Ishan Kishan was the Player of the Match in the second T20I against Zimbabwe. The aggressive left-handed batter slammed 81 off 44 balls, with the aid of nine fours and two sixes. He was looking good for three figures when he was dismissed by Newman Nyamhuri.
Skipper Shreyas Iyer got a start, but could not carry on. He struck four fours in his 25 off 20. Shreyas' cameo ended when he cut a short ball from Brian Bennett to backward point. He will, however, be pleased with his first series win as captain.
Like Ishan, Tilak Varma also scored a scintillating half-century in the second T20I against Zimbabwe in Harare. The southpaw slammed an unbeaten 60 off just 29 balls. His knock featured five fours and three sixes. Varma added 94 runs for the fourth wicket with Kishan in just 43 balls.
Rinku Singh came in towards the death overs in the second T20I in Harare. He played a cameo of 12 runs in eight balls, which included one six. Rinku would hope he gets a few more overs to bat in third T20I.
India picked batting all-rounder Shivam Dube for the first two T20Is against Zimbabwe. They could rest him for the dead rubber on Sunday and pick Suryansh Shedge instead. The 23-year-old has played two T20Is for India so far, but is yet to make any kind of an impact. He has only managed eight runs, but is yet to claim a wicket with his medium pace.
Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi has been economical in both the T20Is he has played so far. In the first T20I, he registered figures of 1-24 from four overs and followed it up with 1-20 in the second T20I.
Pacer Yash Thakur made an impressive debut in the second T20I against Zimbabwe on Saturday. The right-arm pacer claimed 2-30 from four overs, getting the wickets of Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani.
After being the Player of the Match in the first T20I, Mayank Yadav proved a bit expensive in the second match on Saturday. He bowled three overs for 25, without claiming a wicket.
With Prince picking up a hamstring injury, Ashok Sharma could come back into the playing XI for the third T20I against Zimbabwe on Sunday. The Gujarat Titans (GT) pacer registered figures of 0-29 from four overs in debut in the opening T20I.
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