Clearly, this is a match between men and boys, two teams that are at the opposite ends of the cricketing spectrum. Zimbabwe are the poorest team in world cricket, in terms of quality of talent as well as in the financial condition of the game in their country, while Indians are the richest – if not in talent, then surely in terms of the commercial aspect of the game. Cricket in India is a multi-billion dollar business; while in Zimbabwe, the players don’t get enough even to enjoy a decent lunch at the stadium.
Yes, the condition of cricket in Zimbabwe is really quite pathetic, which makes this contest between cricket’s rich boys and the poor lads, really quite heartbreaking. There isn’t much to it as a contest, as the Indians have won 5 out of 5 and are already through to the quarter-finals where they shall be facing the last placed side in the other group, Bangladesh.
Zimbabwe have lost all 4 of their last 5 matches, managing to pick one single win. They are out of the competition but have done themselves no harm whatsoever by giving it their all in every match played so far. The Africans are true fighters, regardless of how horrible the state of their game has been for the past decade or so.
Sadly, the main Zimbabwe player, Brendan Taylor, who has single handedly held the cricket team together over the last 10 years will be bidding goodbye to the national cricket team, as he has signed on as a professional to play for the English County side, Surrey.
Brendan was applauded for his selfless services as he spoke to the media last night. Speaking about the match against India, he said, “The new-ball bowlers have struck early, where they possibly haven’t done that in the past, and they’re bowling with some good pace too. That’s certainly good for Indian cricket, and it’ll be very challenging for us tomorrow, not just the pace but the swing they’re producing at the moment.”
The Indians are very much relaxed about the match, as you might expect. Fast bowler Mohammad Shami who has been one of the best performers for them so far spoke about the differences between playing in New Zealand and Australia: “Since the grounds in Australia are bigger you have more options. You can pitch the ball up and use more variations. In smaller grounds you cannot make mistakes and you cannot give the batsmen chances.”
India are expected to play their same usual side without any changes. It is going to be nothing more than a practice game for them. Zimbabwe may play legspinner Tafadzwa Kamungozi, but that remains to be seen.
The Teams:
India: 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Ajinkya Rahane, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Mohit Sharma, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Umesh Yadav
Zimbabwe: 1 Chamu Chibhabha, 2 Sikandar Raza, 3 Hamilton Masakadza, 4 Brendan Taylor (capt & wk), 5 Sean Williams, 6 Craig Ervine, 7 Solomon Mire, 8 Regis Chakabva, 9 Tinashe Panyangara, 10 Tawanda Mupariwa, 11 Tendai Chatara
Match Conditions
Auckland’s Eden Park has witnessed some high voltage contests in this world cup, especially the one in which the local team New Zealand took on bitter rivals Australia. We expect this game to be played out like a practice match, though. The weather looks good and the pitch couldn’t have been better for batting. The bowlers should find help in the fast windy conditions as well.
Watch India take on Zimbabwe live on Star Sports at 6:30 AM tomorrow!
