Toss India chose to bowl vs Zimbabwe
KL Rahul returned to action by winning the toss and asking Zimbabwe in to bat in the opening ODI in Harare. Rahul admitted he didn’t “know what to expect from this pitch,” but wanted his bowlers to utilise the early start and moisture, especially in the first hour.
Deepak Chahar also returned to action after a long injury layoff and India included both Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson in the XI. Rahul didn’t mention at the toss who would open for India or which position he would bat at.
As expected, the pace attack comprised Chahar, Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj, whereas Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel were the spin options. Deepak Hooda will be India’s sixth bowling option as an offspinner. Rahul said the India players who had been traveling with the team but weren’t getting a chance recently could use this series “to enjoy some time in the middle.”
Zimbabwe captain Regis Chakabva also wanted to bowl, had he won the toss, but said his opening batters would now have to “negotiate the first hour”. Zimbabwe’s top order had been a concern in the ODIs against Bangladesh, and they decided to open with Tadiwanashe Marumani with Innocent Kaia this time, and dropped Takudzwanashe Kaitano. But they were boosted by the return of the experienced Sean Williams.
India: 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Sanju Samson (wk), 4 KL Rahul (capt), 5 Ishan Kishan, 6 Deepak Hooda, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Deepak Chahar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Prasidh Krishna
Zimbabwe: 1 Tadiwanashe Marumani, 2 Innocent Kaia, 3 Sean Williams, 4 Wessly Madhevere, 5 Sikandar Raza, 6 Regis Chakabva (capt & wk), 7 Ryan Burl, 8 Luke Jongwe, 9 Brad Evans, 10 Victor Nyauchi, 11 Richard Ngarava
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