Taurai Muzarabani

Medium pacer Tinashe Panyangara has been ruled out of the upcoming ODI series and three T20 internationals against India with a back injury, while Graeme Cremer returned to lead the side in both forms of the game.

Neville Madziva defended eight runs in the last over as Zimbabwe recorded one of their famous victories over a fancied Indian side, a two-run win in the first T20I of the three-match series at the Harare Sports Club on Saturday to take 1-0 lead.

The three-match ODI series will get underway at the Harare Sports Club on Saturday with India, despite being paper thin on international experience barring Dhoni, the favourites. While, Zimbabwe will have the best shot at beating a visiting second-string Indian team in six years.

It was the first time that the young team was tested on the tour and it faltered on key moments to suffer an unexpected loss. Another fighting contest will be welcome but beating a wounded India could prove to be a too big a task for the home team.

India entered the series on the back of a 3-0 whitewash of Zimbabwe in the preceding ODI series, but suffered a shocking loss in the opening T20 last Saturday before getting their act together in the second game on Monday.

Good knocks by Robin Uthappa, Murali Vijay and captain Ajinkya Rahane enabled India to set 179-run target for Zimbabwe in the first T20 International.

Indian captain Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and chose to bat against Zimbabwe in the first T20 International at the Harare Sports Club on Friday.

A second string India signed off their Zimbabwe sojourn with a nerve-wracking finish, winning the third and final T20I at the Harare Sports Club by three runs to return home with a 2-1 series win on Wednesday.

Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has given enough hints on changes in the playing eleven after two easy wins against hosts Zimbabwe, who have proved no match even for a second string Indian team after losing the first two ODIs.

Zimbabwe took the fight to the Indians and managed to register a win in the tour, beating India by 10 runs in the second and the final T20I.

The ODI series proving to be a stroll in the park, MS Dhoni would look to finish his current season with another dominant performance when he leads India in the three-match Twenty20 series against a hapless Zimbabwe, starting on Saturday.

Axar Patel (3/17) and Harbhajan Singh (2/29) bowled India to a convincing 54-run victory against Zimbabwe in the first Twenty20 International in Harare.