Zimbabwe will lock horns against India in the first ODI at the Harare Sports Club, Harare on Thursday. India has been on a roll as they recently defeated England and West Indies in both ODI and T20I series while Zimbabwe will have to play out of their skin to challenge the visitors.
We take a look at the current form, head to head, players to look out for, and squads of both teams in our match preview.
Current form of India: W W W W L
India has ticked the right boxes in the recent past and they will look to continue their good show against Zimbabwe. The Men in Blue will be led by KL Rahul in the absence of Rohit Sharma while Shikhar Dhawan is appointed as the vice-captain.
Zimbabwe will know that they will have to play at their absolute best in order to challenge the Indian team. Regis Chakabva will look to lead from the front while the in-form Sikander Raza will hold the key for the home team. Raza had scored 252 runs in three ODIs against Bangladesh and also took five wickets.
Head to Head: Matches: 63, Won by India: 51, Won by Zimbabwe: 10, Tied: 2.
India clearly holds a big advantage in the head-to-head battle against Zimbabwe.
Players to look out for: Shikhar Dhawan, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, Deepak Hooda, Sanju Samson, Deepak Chahar, and Prasidh Krishna will be the key players for India.
Sikander Raza, Regis Chakabva, Ryan Burl, Clive Madande, and Luke Jongwe will hold the key for Zimbabwe.
India ODI squad: KL Rahul (c), Shikhar Dhawan (vc), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Mohd Siraj, Deepak Chahar.
