At this stage of the World Cup, it’s more of a practice match ahead of the quarterfinals for all conquering India when they take on Zimbabwe in the last group stage engagement at Eden Park. In a way, this match is a dead rubber.
Still, India want to win this one and finish the Pool B group stage on a high. For MS Dhoni and his men, any World Cup match is a big match and it doesn’t matter whosoever the opposition is.
So, India may not change their playing XI unless there is an injury or the team management intends to give rest to a particular player. Dhoni is clear in his mind that nothing beats a match-practice and playing the regular eleven is always the top priority in the World Cup.
For Zimbabwe, this is another chance to tell the world that they are also good enough to be a part of this tournament. The achievements of their premier batsman Brendan Taylor speaks volume about what this team could achieve in world cricket if they play top ranked Test playing nations regularly.
But since that isn’t the case, whatever Zimbabwe has achieved in their limited space and time is quite commendable. And the Indian team also accepts that the Zimbabweans are no pushovers. You have to be at your best to beat them.
This was the same venue, which hosted the Australia-New Zealand low-scoring match. In all, nineteen wickets fell. Pakistan too defended a reasonably low score against South Africa here. So, expect some major clash between the ball and bat on Saturday. The pacers may get the better of the batsmen!
