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Ricky Zililo
Sports Reporter
THE Zimbabwe national cricket team captain Brendan Taylor believes that the Queens Sports Club wicket favours his side and is therefore looking forward to winning against India.
Zimbabwe take on India at Bulawayo’s ceremonial home of cricket this morning in one of the two Celkon Mobile One Day International Series with the hope of getting a face-saver.Speaking at a Press conference held at Queens Sports Club yesterday, Taylor was hopeful that they will end the series on a bright note.
India have reached an unassailable 3-0 lead and the two remaining matches in Bulawayo are more of dead rubbers.
“The boys have to turn up and bring the results. We have had a good record in the shorter versions of the game at this ground and we are hoping that works in our favour so that we end this series on a high note.
“Winning the toss is crucial as the wicket is slow in the morning and our bowlers can capitalise on that. Our bowlers have been in good form but we were let down by the fielders. I believe that if we play our best cricket we can get a win from these last two games. We could have won the second match but we let that slip. I will encourage the boys to play more freely,” said Taylor.
Cricket enthusiasts can expect to see a youthful Zimbabwean side as Taylor said, “I will be looking at the younger talent to come in and get a run.”
Some of the youngsters expected to feature for Zimbabwe include Tinotenda Murombedzi, Timycen Maruma and Natsai M’shangwe.
Some of the young cricketers with national team experience include bowling sensation Brian Vitori and Kyle Jarvis.
Zimbabwe’s batting hopes will be pinned on opening batsman Vusi Sibanda, Sikander Raza, Hamilton Masakadza and skipper Brendan Taylor.
Former national team captain Elton Chigumbura and Malcolm Waller who are in the middle order are also expected to score significant runs for Zimbabwe if the team is to beat India.
Meanwhile, India’s wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik said they were taking the remaining two matches seriously as they want to win all their matches.
India won the first match of the series played last Wednesday in Harare by six wickets and went on to hand Zimbabwe a 58-run defeat in the second ODI two days later.
The Asians sealed the series on Sunday with a seven-wicket win in a game where their spin bowler Amit Mishra took four wickets and in the process helped his team restrict Zimbabwe to 183 runs after 46 overs.
“We are looking forward to do as well in the remaining games. As you have seen we have not left any loose ends in our playing. The conditions here are similar to those in Harare except that this is colder and the wicket seems to be slower but we will assess it tomorrow and see how it goes,” said Karthik.
Some of the players to look our for in the Indian squad include Mishra and Mohamad Shami Ahmed who have bowled solidly and young Jaydev Unadkat.
Online Reporter
derick.khumalo