It’s been a strange T20 World Cup campaign for Zimbabwe. Placed in a tough Group A of the opening phase—a group that included two-time champions West Indies, Ireland and Scotland—the African nation scrapped to the top of the heap, thus earning a shot at the big boys in Group 2 of the Super 12s. Clubbed with Pakistan, South Africa, India and Bangladesh, they were expected to make up the numbers more than anything else, but while they are practically out of the tournament, they definitely have been anything but also-rans.
Craig Ervine’s men picked up three points out of a possible four against South Africa (washed out) and Pakistan (which they won by one run, defending 130 successfully) combined. It’s against the less fancied sides that they have let themselves down, losing by three runs to Bangladesh in a bizarre finish when they failed to score a run off the bat off the last two balls of the game and well beaten by the Netherlands in their penultimate game in Adelaide on Wednesday.
Up against them in their final fixture are India, one foot in the semis but wary of assuming they are already there. Given a scare by Bangladesh at the Adelaide Oval, India’s fate is entirely in their own hands. If they win on Sunday at the magnificent Melbourne Cricket Ground in the final league match of the Super 12s, they will finish top of their group, a marked improvement from last year when they lost up front to Pakistan and New Zealand and crashed out of the reckoning at the first time of asking.
It's an indication of the relative pulling powers and strengths of the teams that in a decade and a half, India and Zimbabwe have met each other just seven times in Twenty20 Internationals. India have won five of those matches – the losses came with experimental sides that travelled to Zimbabwe for exposure and confidence, more than anything else – but the last of those seven games was played out in June 2016, nearly six and a half years back.
Even this August, when Shikhar Dhawan led a team out to the southern African nation, only three One-Day Internationals were on the menu, a bizarre development but clearly one intended to boost the coffers of Zimbabwe Cricket than with any cricketing merit behind that decision. Zimbabwe aren’t exciting enough for India to invite them over for a series of any length in any format, India are too busy otherwise to send out a full side to Zimbabwe. As harsh as that might be, it’s the inescapable reality in times of commercial considerations and workload management.
Zimbabwe will be the first to admit that from the promise of 1992, when they ran India close in their inaugural Test in Harare, they haven’t built along expected lines. A slew of reasons is responsible for their present predicament which has left them closer to Test newcomers Ireland and Afghanistan on cricketing merit than even Bangladesh, who made their first Test appearance eight years later. The highs of the days of Flower brothers Andy and Grant, Alistair Campbell, Strang brothers Bryan and Paul, Heath Streak, Neil Johnson, Murray Goodwin and Whittall cousins Guy and Andy are long behind them. Sikandar Raza, once aspiring to be a pilot with the Pakistan Air Force, is the one true world-class player in their ranks and as much of a worker of miracles as he might be, there is only so much one man can do against 11.
India should not be stretched too much by the Zimbabweans, who could also be overwhelmed by the stage. They have never played India in the 20-over World Cup, and while they will remember this experience for their lifetime, it’s impossible for them not to feel intimidated by close to 90,000 fans rooting for the opposition. After relatively disappointing turnouts in Perth and Adelaide, India can expect unstinted support on their return to the scene of their triumph against Pakistan two weeks back, the organisers throwing open ‘standing only’ tickets in response to the tremendous demand.
That the game will be played on the same pitch on which India overcame Pakistan off the last ball will be encouraging news for Rohit Sharma’s men, who are better equipped resources-wise to exploit the assistance than the Zimbabweans. Well rested after being given Friday off following a manic week where travel-rain-play-travel played out on a loop, they will leave nothing to chance. Even if they want to take Zimbabwe lightly, which a true professional will not, they will be hauled back to reality by Rahul Dravid, a stickler for protocols who approached every opposition with the same respect and wariness, never mind if they sat on top of the totem pole or brought up the foot of the ladder.
India have ticked several boxes in their four games so far, and K.L. Rahul’s return to run-making ways against Bangladesh might be seen as the falling in place of the final piece of the jigsaw, but things aren’t quite as straightforward. Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav have been batting in a league of their own and helped paper over the cracks, but the others haven’t been as prolific or consistent. Rohit Sharma and Rahul have had just one innings of substance each, both have made less than 75 runs in four innings and therefore haven’t been able to provide even one substantial start – India’s highest opening stand in this tournament is 23, in the defeat to South Africa. Rahul and Rohit have only added 52 runs at an average of 13; Kohli and Suryakumar have made light of this problem area and with no disrespect to Zimbabwe, this is a wonderful opportunity for the tandem to fire before the knockout games.
Zimbabwe have thrown a spanner in India’s works in the past, most notably at the 50-over World Cup in England in 1999. They’d love an encore, but Rohit and his band will have other ideas.
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