Team India did what was expected of them on their tour of Zimbabwe, beating the hosts 3-0 in a professional manner to continue their incredible form in white-ball cricket in recent months. Although Sikandar Raza and Zimbabwe gave the Men in Blue a scare in the final ODI in Harare, KL Rahul’s men were in cruise control for most of the series as some of the fringe players in the India setup were given ample opportunity to showcase their talents.
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Shubman Gill followed up his majestic display in the ODI series against the West Indies with another player of the series performance against Zimbabwe. Batting in the top three, Gill scored 245 runs at a strike rate of 120, notching his maiden ODI ton in the third and final ODI. However, more than the runs, it was how the Punjab batter dominated the Zimbabwe bowlers that will impress the Indian management.
Gill was in total control against the pacers and spinners, using his feet expertly against the slower bowlers and showing off his sublime hand-eye coordination against the seamers to score a handful of runs. Gill also consistently scored at more than run a ball despite taking very few risks at the crease. In contrast, his opening partner Shikhar Dhawan was striking at just 76 this series, and if Gill continues his upward trajectory in the format, the left-hander’s spot in the side may be under threat sooner than you think.
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Sanju Samson scored just 58 runs in two innings in this series. You cannot draw much from his performance against a lower-quality Zimbabwe side. However, in his brief cameos in Harare, the wicketkeeper showed a few glimpses of his potential in a role India hasn’t had since the days of MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina, an ODI finisher. Samson hit six sixes in this series, more than the rest of the Indian team combined, and was the only batter apart from Shubman Gill to finish with a strike rate of more than 100.
Samson’s place in the XI will not be a certainty when Rohit, Kohli, Pant, and Pandya return to the team and Rahul moves to the middle order, but his skill set as a floater or finisher in ODI cricket could mimic what Dinesh Karthik does in the T20s and be an invaluable asset for the team moving forward.
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Just a few years ago, India’s pace options in ODI cricket were limited to Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. However, those options have grown in quantity, with plenty more names putting themselves in contention for a berth in India’s starting XI as the third seamer.
Three of those pacers were on show for India against Zimbabwe. Deepak Chahar returned after a six-month injury lay-off to remind the world of his ability to swing the new ball both ways and offer some control at the death, to go along with his batting abilities at number eight. Mohammed Siraj bowled with genuine speed and accuracy, finishing with an incredible economy rate of 3.25 for the series in 16 overs. And finally, Prasidh Krishna showcased his rare skillset amongst Indian pacers of bowling the hard lengths and extracting extra bounce and bite from even the most docile surfaces.
India’s pace battery ranks are increasing, and ahead of the 2023 World Cup in India, these three pacers will be the prime candidates fighting it out for the third seamer’s spot in the XI alongside Bumrah and Shami.
Shivaan Shah