NATIONAL cricket team captain Brendan Taylor said his side will be hoping to use their good record in the shorter versions of the game at Queens Sports Club to finish the five-match series against India on a high.
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The two sides will clash today in the fourth Celkom one-day international (ODI) series. India clinched the series after taking a 3-0 lead against the hosts in the first leg of the series played at Harare Sports Club and will be looking at maintaining their good form in the remaining two matches of the tour.
“We are not trying to complicate things or put the boys under any kind of pressure, but they have to turn up the heat and bring the results. We have a good record in the shorter versions of the game at this ground (Queens Sports Club) and we are hoping that works in our favour, so we can end this series on a high,” Taylor said.
“Winning the toss is crucial as the wicket is slow in the morning and our bowlers can capitalise on that. Our bowlers have been in good form, but were let down by our fielding.
“I believe that if we play our best cricket ,we can get a win from these last two games. We could have won the second match, but we let that slip. I will encourage the boys to play more freely and I will be looking at the younger talent to come in and get a run.”
In the second match, Zimbabwe got themselves into commanding positions twice, but the home side couldn’t hang on to those positions. Zimbabwean bowlers ripped through India’s top order batsmen, taking five easy wickets, but a 167-run partnership between Shikhar Dhawan and Dinesh Kartik took India to a commanding total of 294 for eight.
In reply, Zimbabwe pushed hard early on in their innings, but were left exposed after Vusi Sibanda and Taylor were dismissed. The batting order crumbled after their departure seeing Zimbabwe losing by 58 runs. India’s wicket keeper Dinesh Karthik said his side was still a determined team heading into today’s clash.
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“We are looking forward to do as well as we can in the remaining games. We have not left any loose ends in our play in the three games we played in Harare. The conditions here (Queens Sports Club) are similar to those in Harare except that this is colder and the wicket seems to be slower, but we will assess the wicket tomorrow (today) morning and see how it goes,” Karthik said.
While conditions will be similar to Harare and the games will start just as early, the Queens Sports Club pitch has a reputation of being easier to bat on. With the series in the bag, India would look to give some of the relatively inexperienced players an opportunity to play on the international stage in the remaining two games.
Teams: Zimbabwe (From): Brendan Taylor (w/c), Vusi Sibanda, Sikandar Raza, Michael Chinouya, Malcolm Waller, Elton Chigumbura, Graeme Cremer, Hamilton Masakadza, Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara, Timycen Maruma, Natsai Mushangwe, Tinotenda Mutombodzi, Prosper Utseya, Brian Vitori, Sean Williams India (From): Virat Kohli (c), Dinesh Karthik (w), Shikhar Dhawan, Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Rohit Sharma, Amit Mishra, Shami Ahmed, Vinay Kumar, Jaidev Unadkat, Parvez Rasool, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Mohit Mahipal Sharma
