India will be up against Zimbabwe tomorrow at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Ahmedabad. The match is set to start at 7:00 PM IST. It is a must-win situation for both sides to keep their semi-final hopes alive after losing their opening Super 8 games against South Africa and the West Indies, respectively.
Ahead of the game, Zimbabwe all-rounder Ryan Burl has shared some important updates on the team’s preparation against India, and he also pointed out India’s struggle against spin and the pace of deliveries.
Zimbabwe have some good spinners- Ryan Burl
Teams have planned not give pace to the India batters, as they have struggled in this World Cup, especially against off-spin. This has been in notice for the Chevrons, who have a spinner like Sikandar Raza.
Ryan Burl said, “Thank you for saying Zimbabwe have some good spinners. That’s a good compliment to have. Yes, we have done our home work. I won’t give too many secrets but yes, we have studied how Indian batters have fared against spinners.”
Brul kept on saying, “We would be silly to ignore that (India vs spin). We have done our homework but have to take the matchups into the account as well. Bowling first does help. No one wants to bowl with the slippery ball. We are aware of the dew factor.”
We are aware of the dew factor- Ryan Burl
Ryan Burl was asked about the dew factor in Chennai, as the toss will be a crucial factor with teams liking to bowl first on a pitch that has assisted the spinners over the years, especially in the first innings.
Burl said, “We have played a lot of night games. We played in Pakistan where dew was a big factor. It is something we are prepared for. You have to execute on the day. Bowling first does help. No one wants to bowl with the slippery ball. We are aware of the dew factor.”
India’s struggle against slower ball continues
Since the start of the tournament, India has been struggling against the slower balls and spins. They have had a collapse in every game; despite recovering from other games, they failed to do so against South Africa last Sunday and were bowled out for 111 while chasing 188. More than 50% slower balls bowled by the Protea pacers were slower.
As per the stats, in the South Africa game, India batters’ strike rate went down to 135, with boundaries per ball being 5.3, and on pace on deliveries, they have struck with 167 with 4.2 balls per boundary. Their off-spin problem was also exploited first in the game against Pakistan, when they lost Abhishek Sharma early for a duck.
Spin to Win motto for Zimbabwe against India
The No.1 T20I batter also went back for a duck, having been bowled by Aryan Dutt in the final group stage, who is also an off-spinner. Next, it was Ishan Kishan, who fell prey to Aiden Makram in the very first over. This highlights India’s problems against off-spin.
Zimbabwe has Sikandar Raza in their team, and being the captain, he would like to exploit this problem of India early on and might bowl the first over with the new ball.
Also Read: Sikandar Raza ruled out of India clash? Official medical bulletin issued
