JOIN UST20 World Cup: India seek win against Zimbabwe to seal semis spot
The semifinal is one win away, the next opponents are Zimbabwe, so the general consensus might be that India’s place in the last four of the T20 World Cup is guaranteed. It’s a theory that might cut ice with the larger Indian cricketing populace, but Rohit Sharma’s team isn’t approaching Sunday’s game at the MCG in that frame of mind.
Sport has a way of biting you where it hurts the most when you take the outcome for granted. Competitive sport demands respect for the opposition, and that’s precisely what India will accord Zimbabwe, even if the gulf between the two sides is obvious and unambiguous.
Zimbabwe have taken the longer route to get to this stage, coming through the first phase as table toppers, advancing at the expense of two-time champions West Indies, and showing that they deserved to be in the Super 12s by stunning Pakistan by one run at pacy Perth.
Coming on the back of a washout against South Africa, it temporarily put them in the race for a last-four slot, but a three-run heartbreak against Bangladesh and an unexpected reversal at the hands of Netherlands have put paid to their aspirations, however tenuous they might have been.
They will be in for an experience of a lifetime on Sunday night, when more than 80,000 Indian fans, colourful and excitable and noisy and energetic, will make a beeline for one of the more historic venues worldwide. Zimbabwe have only played two matches previously at the ‘G’, the last of them in 2004; more seasoned teams have found the MCG cauldron too hot to handle when it is teeming with boisterous Indian supporters, but if Zimbabwe are looking for a silver lining, it is that few expect much of them, so they are in a nothing-to-lose situation.
This will only be the eighth Twenty20 International between the sides and the first since June 2016, an apt reflection of which ends of the cricketing spectrum the two teams occupy. Coincidentally, all seven previous games have been played in Harare; that India only lead the head-to-heads 5-2 is largely because they have seldom sent out a full team, plumping instead for developmental squads with one or two experienced hands thrown in.
A straightforward victory – inasmuch as anything like that exists in sport – will assure India top spot in Group 2. That won’t count for much when the knockouts arrive and past history will have zero relevance; no matter what the external noise might be, India know their passage to the semis is still hanging fire and so there will be no let-up in intensity or intent when ‘play’ is called on the morrow.
India have done several things right in this tournament, including holding their poise and composure in tight situations against Pakistan and Bangladesh, but if there’s one thing they desperately crave, it’s a solid start from Rohit and KL Rahul. In different games, the skipper and his deputy have cracked eye-catching half-centuries but together, they are yet to come up with a meaningful partnership.
A highest opening salvo of 23 in four outings, and 52 runs in all at an unimpressive 13, are returns that will rankle the duo, which has admittedly been confronted with swinging and seaming new balls that have necessitated India to veer from their avowed goal of going hard at the bowling from the word go.
Zimbabwe don’t have the most threatening attack – on paper, mind – and so the two right-handers will view this as an opportunity to reignite their chemistry as a pair. Those designs might have to be tempered by the reality that this match will be played on the same strip where India edged Pakistan two weeks ago, and which assisted the quicker bowlers generously.
A semifinal berth will be a step in the right direction for Rohit, under whose captaincy players have sensed a greater degree of security than ever before. Zimbabwe will look to Sikandar Raza to propel their charge but barring the unforeseen, it’s India’s collective might that should hold sway.
(The writer is a senior cricket journalist)