Harare, July 24 (IANS) Following a commanding seven-wicket win in the series opener, Shreyas Iyer’s India will aim to seal the three-match T20I series when they face Zimbabwe in the second fixture at the Harare Sports Club on Saturday.
After series defeats to Ireland and England, India bounced back on Thursday with a comfortable seven-wicket win in the opener to take a 1-0 lead. The victory was anchored by teenaged batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who smashed a record-breaking 18-ball fifty to become the youngest half-centurion in men’s international cricket, and a sharp 2-18 spell from returning pacer Mayank Yadav.
Conditions at the Harare Sports Club are likely to favour high-scoring action, though India’s disciplined performance meant that Zimbabwe could only make 125/7. Unusually warm winter weather is expected again, with temperatures hovering between 22 and 24 degrees.
With the stadium situated at an altitude of nearly 1,400 meters, the thin air will allow mishits and aerial shots to travel farther. The shortest boundary is to the third-man region, while the longest stretches to 81 meters towards wide long-off/cover. Square boundaries measure 76m and 72m respectively.
With the final match scheduled to be held at the same venue on Sunday, India will look to get an unassailable lead on Saturday before aiming for a 3-0 series sweep in the quick-fire tour.
When: Saturday, July 25, 4:30 PM IST
Where: Harare Sports Club, Harare
Where to watch: The match will be shown live on Unite8 Sports channels and live-stream is on the FanCode app and website
Squads
Zimbabwe: Sikandar Raza (Captain), Brian Bennett, Ryan Burl, Tanaka Chivanga, Ben Curran, Brad Evans, Wessly Madhevere, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava, Newman Nyamhuri, Innocent Kaia, and Tafadzwa Tsiga
India: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Ishan Kishan (wk), Shivam Dube, Suryansh Shedge, Rinku Singh, Harsh Dubey, Ravi Bishnoi, Prince Yadav, Yash Thakur, Ashok Sharma, Mayank Yadav, and Prabhsimran Singh (wk).
–IANS
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