India are likely to make key changes to their line-up in the do-or-die clash against Zimbabwe. The co-hosts have their backs to the wall after losing their previous match to South Africa by a big margin of 76 runs, which means they are likely to shake things up in their playing XI.
The most anticipated change of all could be Sanju Samson making his return to the playing XI. Sanju has played only one game in the T20 World Cup — against Namibia, where he scored 22 off 8 balls. He might be brought in to counter India’s main issue — their frailties against off-spin.
Samson is expected to slot into the opener’s position, displacing Ishan Kishan to No. 3 in the line-up. He would replace Rinku Singh in the XI, who was forced to fly out of Chennai to attend to his father, who is currently hospitalised in Greater Noida.
While Rinku returned to Chennai on the evening of February 25, India are unlikely to play the batter, who might be in a poor mental state. This means that Tilak Varma, who has been in a horrible patch of form, might retain his place in the line-up.
There was huge criticism from fans and experts for not playing Axar Patel in Ahmedabad. India are likely to correct that issue and replace Washington Sundar with him in the line-up.
Axar looked in exceptional touch with the bat in both the Ahmedabad and Chennai nets, and his inclusion will help India add a floater to their batting line-up.
IND vs ZIM: Do-or-Die
This is a must-win game for India, who have suffered a massive blow to their Net Run Rate after their loss against South Africa. India will not only have to win the match, they will have to win it by a big margin to stay in the hunt for the semi-finals.
India will also keep a close eye on West Indies vs South Africa, which is set to be played in Ahmedabad. If West Indies win this match, things will get really difficult for India.
IND vs ZIM Predicted XIs
India Predicted XI
Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy.
Zimbabwe Predicted XI
Tadiwanashe Marumani (wk), Brian Bennett, Dion Myers, Ryan Burl, Sikandar Raza (c), Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Graeme Cremer, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava.
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