Zimbabwe vs India 1st ODI Preview: India's Gen next in the spotlight

After a conspicuous paucity of fixtures, international cricket returns to Zimbabwe with India touring the African nation for a 5 match ODI series starting with the first ODI at Harare on July 24, Wednesday. While the prospect of the number one team vs the tenth may not be enticing, this series simply cannot be treated as another insignificant one crammed into the maddening cricket calender.

With the Indian selectors resting senior players including Mahendra Singh Dhoni, it is time for the fresh faces to perform and prove that the team’s DNA is not just dependent on a few individuals. As many as 5 potential debutants are waiting in the wings to unleash their talent and stake for higher honors in the Indian set up.

Meanwhile, the proverbial minnows, Zimbabwe, will be desperately hoping to spark off a renaissance to re-announce themselves to the international fraternity. The Indian challenge followed by the visit of other Asian powerhouses – Pakistan and Sri Lanka – at the twilight of the year is expected to marginally arrest Zimbabwe Cricket Board’s financial slide.

India’s last tour of Zimbabwe in 2010 was nothing short of horrendous as they stumbled against the hosts and third team, Sri Lanka to exit from the Tri-nation tournament well before the final. Zimbabwe, setting up competitive totals, turned out to be the dangerous banana skin for the then Suresh Raina led side. Cut to July 2013. In Captain Dhoni’s absence, Virat Kohli will skipper the young, yet ‘threatening’ team, according Zimbabwe head coach Andy Waller.

Kohli, himself, has been in the vanguard of India’s success in the recent past, churning out big runs with peerless consistency. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have forged a solid opening partnership average 57.72 in their short collaboration thus far.

Cheteswar Pujara – India’s Mr. Dependable in Test cricket – is ready for his ODI dash. Critics have labelled the Saurashtra batsman as a misfit in ODIs but his List A average of 56.97 suggests otherwise. With Ambati Rayudu pressing hard for the keeper-batsman berth, the hot-cold Dinesh Karthik needs to shore up his conversion rate.

However, all eyes will be on Parvez Rasool, the first cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir to be selected to play for India. Rasool will assist the wily Ravindra Jadeja and comeback man Amit Mishra in the spin department. Much like Ravichandran Ashwin, Rasool is handy with the bat too. India’s green pace attack faces a baptism of fire. For what began as an anonymous CSK talent scout, Mohit Sharma signed off the IPL with 20 scalps in 15 games. Jaidev Unadkat lends much needed variety to the bowling unit that also features Vinay Kumar and Shami Ahmed.

For the first time in a decade, Zimbabwe’s top six presents a settled outlook. The Pakistan born Sikandar Raza, who has gate-crashed into the line-up on the back of sturdy domestic displays, has created as much buzz as Parvez Rasool in the build-up to the series. Captain/Keeper, Brendan Taylor, is an attacking batsman, who can punish the bowlers when in full flow.

The elder statesman, Ray Price is also a part of the 17 man squad but is unlikely to play in the opener as hinted by Waller. If Zimbabwe click in unison, they can become giant killers and slay reputations.

Probable XIs:

India: S Dhawan, R Sharma, C Pujara, V Kohli(c), S Raina, D Karthik/ A Rayudu, R Jadeja, P Rasool, A Mishra, V Kumar, J Unadkat/ M Sharma

Zimbabwe: V Sibanda, S Raza, H Mazakatza, B Taylor(c)&wk, M Waller, S Williams, E Chigumbura, P Utseya, T Mutambodzi, K Jarvis, B Vittori

Key Players:

V Kohli: After marshaling his troops astutely in the Caribbean, Kohli has another golden opportunity to buttress his captaincy credentials. It will be interesting to see how he manages his callow bowling attack.

S Williams: Sean Williams’s aggressive batting methods coupled with his useful bowling makes him the home team’s most valuable player, Brendan Taylor not withstanding. The 26 year old muti-dimensional cricketer was the star of Zimbabwe’s winning campaign against Bangladesh in May.

Pitch: The Harare ground staff have left a tinge of grass on the pitch, meaning that there will be some juice for the pacers early on. The pitch though will facilitate stroke-making as the game wears on.

Prediction: India will demolish Zimbabwe to open the series with a thunderous bang.