No room for error: Suryakumar Yadav’s Team India eyes big win vs Zimbabwe at Chepauk

CHENNAI: When was the last time Indian players have been forced to keep an eye on another game before taking the field? It’s difficult to remember but that’s exactly the position they find themselves in right now in the T20 World Cup. Before India take on Zimbabwe at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Thursday, Suryakumar Yadav & Co. will hope South Africa beat West Indies in Ahmedabad. If it goes the other way, it may well take things beyond their control, with Zimbabwe also needing to beat South Africa. While India’s resounding defeat against South Africa, which left them with a net run rate (NRR) of -3.8 has put them in this pickle, it wasn’t exactly a bolt from the blue.

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Right from the first game against the USA, the Indian batting lineup was found wanting, but there seemed to be a strange reluctance to accept the shortcomings. Captain Suryakumar Yadav virtually laughed off a journalist’s query about probable changes in the batting order before the South Africa game but the humbling loss to them has changed every equation. Changes are now being mulled and there’s a strong possibility that Sanju Samson will be drafted in to open the batting. “There can be changes, yes. There are three left-handers up top and we have lost a wicket in the first over in the last three games. I personally don’t think that there is much problem, but we will see how it can be dealt with,” batting coach Sitanshu Kotak said on Wednesday.




Wednesday was a hot day in Chennai, with summer setting in, and only two players — C Varun and Tilak Varma — turned up for the optional training session. On Tuesday evening, though, the team had a four-hour session, where every batter looked to go for their shots right from the word go. Surya and Tilak, who may well be coming one slot down if Sanju plays, looked the most intent on hitting every ball out of the park. Both have struggled with their strike rate and they know that at No. 4 and 5, there won’t be too much time to settle in.

Kotak, though, wasn’t ready to buy the idea that the duo have been struggling for form. “The South Africa game was really bad but that’s done. But against Pakistan we knew what we wanted and 175 was above par. Tilak and Surya were playing according to the situation,” the batting coach said.

While regaining batting momentum is prime on India’s agenda, there’s also a strong likelihood that Axar Patel will be back in place of Rinku Singh, who has gone home to look after his ailing father.

“At No. 8, an allrounder is what we are probably looking at,” Kotak said, in an answer to a different query. But it left enough indication that Axar, whose exclusion in Ahmedabad raised eyebrows, will be back.

The Chepauk pitch is likely to be a belter — a 200-plus score shouldn’t be a problem if India bat first and don’t lose wickets in a heap. That can put Zimbabwe, a competent side without much firepower, completely out of the game. Ryan Burt, one of Zimbabwe’s top allrounders, feels India will also carry excess baggage. “It’s as much a must-win game for us as it is for India. They lost pretty badly in the first game and so did we. There were, of course, learnings, and we want to take that forward,” Burt said.

The Zimbabwe team had travelled on Tuesday and Wednesday’s training session was their first at the Chepauk. The conditions at the venue are quite different to what they have experienced in Sri Lanka, where they beat Australia and Sri Lanka. Burt agreed that’s going to be a challenge.

There was one piece of good news for Zimbabwe, with their captain Sikandar Raza — who was struck in his bowling hand while playing against West Indies — regaining fitness.

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