The first T20I between India and Zimbabwe will be fought at Harare. Revenge will be the only thing on India’s mind, while Zimbabwe will look to continue with the good work and a progress up the international ladder.

India will go in as favourites with Blue Square offering 1/3 for their win. However, their record in recent times in this version of the game has been as abysmal as it can get. There are two good news from an Indian perspective. The pitches will not assist any form of intimidatory, short bowling and the games will start four hours later than the normal schedule of the ODIs, which should not allow an unnecessary advantage to the team batting second. Sky Bet gives 5/2 if Zimbabwe can win their third game in a row against India.

One gets the sense that both the sides will go into the game with line-ups similar to those which played in ODIs. India, in particular, will play the same eleven that played in the last ODI against Sri Lanka. If they need to make any change, it could well be in the form of Murali Vijay (7/2 at Sky Bet) replacing Naman Ojha. They will also want to shuffle things around with the batting, with Yusuf Pathan (10/1 at Blue Square) coming in higher than he usually does, and probably around the ten-over mark.

In the entire ODI series, Suresh Raina (7/2 at Boylesports) looked to have allowed the captaincy to affect his batting. The time could just be ripe for him to explode with his customary sixes over the mid-wicket fence.

Brendan Taylor (3/1 at Sky Bet) is in such an excellent run of form that he won three man of the match awards in the ODIs, as well as the man of the tournament to go with it. He will be a vital cog in the Zimbabwean wheel, with Hamilton Masakadza (10/3 at Bet365, to top-score for his side) at the other end also making things work. If the Indian bowlers are able to get through to the middle order quickly, then, the headaches could multiply for the hosts, given that the rest of the batting has failed to accelerate as quickly as the top two.

Greg Lamb’s (12/1 at Bet Fred) promotion in the top four needs to yield a more aggressive innings than usual, while Tatenda Taibu (15/4 at Blue Square, both to top-score for Zimbabwe) could score the runs, but whether he will be able to sustain the run-rate is a question-mark against him.

Tips:
Favourites: India (1/3 at Blue Square)
Top India batsman: Suresh Raina (7/2 at Boylesports)
Top Zimbabwe batsman: Tatenda Taibu (15/4 at Blue Square)