Harare: A dominant India will look to plug their bowling loopholes as they go into the third cricket one-dayer against minnows Zimbabwe here on Sunday with the aim of sealing the five-match series with another triumph.
India have taken a 2-0 lead on the back of an impressive show by their young batsmen and now need just one more win to take an unassailable 3-0 lead.
Zimbabwe, to their credit, have scored 200-plus scores in the previous two matches, which meant that both Indian batsmen and bowlers had some work to do, though the matches were quite lop-sided affairs.
But it is the bowling that has been a cause of concern for the Indians with the pacers being a trifle inconsistent in both the matches.
Vinay Kumar has proved quite expensive as he has leaked 106 runs in his 18 overs and has taken just one wicket and that too of a tail-ender. Mohammed Shami has also been far from impressive and is a big disappointment in the absence of frontline pacers, who have been rested.
Jaydev Unadkat has been the most successful with five wickets in two matches. Ravindra Jadeja continues to bowl impressively for India as he bowled miserly in the two matches even as his bat has been silent in the series so far.
Conditions and the opposition may not be that difficult here for India but good performances overseas builds the confidence and that is the gain for the visitors in the series.
Virat Kohli, considered India’s future captain, and new batting sensation Shikhar Dhawan have scored a century each to pilot India to two victories. Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik too have contributed with a half-century each but neither Rohit Sharma nor Suresh Raina have been able to score much. (PTI)