Shubman Gill will be hunting his first series win as the captain of the Indian team when they take the field against Zimbabwe on Saturday, 13 July. The young Indian team have made a strong comeback in the series after their initial hiccup in the first T20I. The side will be looking to win a clean game on Saturday. Their batting line-up has done really well in the last two matches, but the bowling attack has sprayed runs in different phases of the game.
As a captain, Shubman will hope that his side stands up and delivers a knockout punch against Sikandar Raza’s team, who have tried their best to hurt in the bilateral series. India have not played the same team in their 3 T20Is so far. Changes can be expected as Shubman Gill has already spoken about rotating his fast bowlers. It is expected that Mukesh Kumar will come into the playing XI, either in place of Khaleel Ahmed or Avesh Khan.
One of the things that India might do is to drop Shubman Gill to No. 3. One can definitely argue that having Abhishek Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top of the batting order is a win-win situation for India. The duo are ultra-aggressive and have the ability to take the game away from the opposition team.
In case they fail, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shubman Gill can always get to their anchoring roles and take India to a safe score.
It looked a little sore when Abhishek came out to bat at No. 3 in the previous match and was not effective at all. For Abhishek to be a big part of India’s future, the youngster needs to be given a chance at the position that he has succeeded in.
ZIM vs IND: Team News
Zimbabwe are unlikely to make big changes in this game. Sikandar Raza has been very critical of his batting unit and would hope that they finally come to party in the next game. Apart from that, Zimbabwe really need to do something about their catching if they want to qualify for the 2026 T20 World Cup from the African region.
ZIM vs IND: WHEN AND WHERE TO WATCH?
Harare Sports Club in Harare will host all the T20Is in Harare. The matches will get underway at 1 pm local time and 4:30 pm IST.
ZIM vs IND: PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS?
India players have vouched throughout that the pitch is double paced. Shubman Gill, speaking after his innings in the 3rd T20I, said that it was difficult to play against the new ball but once the pitch settled in, a lot of runs were on the wicket against the old ball.
ZIM vs IND, 4TH T20I: PREDICTED PLAYING XIS
India Playing XI
Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan/Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed.
Zimbabwe Playing XI
Wessly Madhevere, Tadiwanashe Marumani/Innocent Kaia, Brian Bennett, Sikandar Raza (c), Dion Myers, Johnathan Campbell, Clive Madande (wk), Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani, Tendai Chatara.