Daijiworld Medi Network

Harare, Jul 24: A warm welcome to one and all for the first ODI between Zimbabwe and India from Harare. This is a new look Indian team with regular skipper MS Dhoni been rested, along with the likes of Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav. Virat Kohli, the new skipper, will look to ensure that India continue their glorious run in ODIs and put on a consistent show against the hosts who are placed in the bottom of the rankings. India did not have a good time in Zimbabwe in 2010, when they failed to qualify for the tri-series final also involving Sri Lanka.

The confirmed news is that Jaydev Unadkat will be making his ODI debut today. Even Ambati Rayudu is making his ODI debut today.

We might see some debuts taking place in the Indian team today. News is that Cheteshwar Pujara and Parvez Rasool might appear in their first game.

Zimbabwe, on the other hand, have not a single ODI game against a major-ranked side since 2011 when they defeated New Zealand by one wicket at Bulawayo.

Pitch Report: 'There are a couple of cracks on the pitch. There is a bit of grass. Bowlers will get some purchase in the morning if they bend their backs. The team that wins the toss should bowl first.'

India have won the toss and elected to field

Brendan Taylor: 'We would have bowled first. It will be a major Test for the batsmen to face up to the two new balls. We are all ready to go. We have been working on our technical issues for the past eight weeks. We have had some good results in the past. Everybody is fit and this is our best team.'

Virat Kohli: 'We will bowl first. The wicket is fresh and it looks hard. It will get even better as the game progresses. We have won some tough matches and we have won tournaments like the Champions Trophy and the tri-series in the West Indies. There are a lot of young guys in the team who have done well in the Indian T20 League.'

Teams:

Zimbabwe (Playing XI): Hamilton Masakadza, Vusi Sibanda, Sikandar Raza, Brendan Taylor(c), Sean Williams, Malcolm Waller, Elton Chigumbura, Tinotenda Mutombodzi(w), Prosper Utseya, Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara

India (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli(c), Dinesh Karthik(w), Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Shami Ahmed, Vinay Kumar, Jaidev Unadkat

Match Preview

India begin a five-match ODI series against Zimbabwe from Wednesday, knowing the dangers of taking the hosts lightly. Often in the past, the African nation, the perennial minnows of world cricket, have turned out giant killers, bruising many egos and reputations along the way. Without MS Dhoni, the other seniors who have either retired or fallen by the wayside and the impressive Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the world champions would be represented by a host of young cricketers, out to make a mark in the international arena.

India's first tryst with Zimbabwe dates back to the iconic game of the 1983 World Cup, when the eventual winners were reduced to an untidy 17/5 before Kapil Dev bludgeoned his way to 175 to bail his side out of possible embarrassment. Zimbabwe ran India close again in the 1992 World Cup in Australia before finally stunning them in a tri-series tournament in South Africa five years later. Another defeat in the 1999 showpiece event cost India a place beyond the Super Six while Dougie Marillie conjured a sensational 56 to lead Zimbabwe to a magical win on India soil. By all accounts, this is not a team to be taken lightly.

India's last trip to Zimbabwe, back in 2010, does not make for pleasant memory either. Led by Suresh Raina, the visitors stuttered and stumbled against the hosts and Sri Lanka, the third team and crashed out before the final. However, times have changed. India have since won the World Cup, had their reputation in Test cricket abroad in tatters, seen the ugly head of match-fixing rising again and more importantly witnessed the emergence of a fiery, exuberant brand of cricketers, led by the inimitable Virat Kohli.

Placed as deputy to Raina on the tour of 2010, Kohli has come a long way. As one of the most dependable batsmen in the side, the Delhi boy was the obvious choice to take over as captain once the BCCI decided that Dhoni deserved a break from his maddening schedule. He will have at his disposal a young, inexperienced squad, many of who will be eager to impress the selection committee of their prowess. What better chance could they have than a Zimbabwe unit that has been well short of those upset wins that the side from the 1990s collected with some pride.

But a tour like the one here could be tricky. You cannot be expected to fail against Zimbabwe and good performances may end up counting for nothing. After all, they are the weakest team in world cricket today. So where does that leave the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and Dinesh Karthik. While one has cemented his place in the Test team and would want to make his mark in ODIs, the other is surely on notice after flattering to deceive in England. Karthik, picked for the Champions Trophy on the back of a brilliant Ranji season and a dream run for Mumbai in the IPL, scored back-to-back centuries in the warm-up games but came a cropper in the real battle.

Players like Pujara and Karthik are still better off, having had the chance to make a mark other than this Zimbabwean sojourn - spare a thought for Ajinkya Rahane and Ambati Rayudu, two players who have been knocking on the doors of the national team for years. A good run in Africa now might at best place them on immediate stand-by duty and they could at well be expected to come in as cover for an injured regular. But it is still an international series and these players would still be representing the reigning world champions. There will be a lot of pride at stake for the Indians because unlike their last trip, a false move could be disastrous.

As the Indian team set sail for England, days after the IPL spot-fixing scandal gripped the nation, the mood was somber. But Dhoni's astute captaincy has restored some faith again. That is precisely why this team cannot be seen to undo the good work so far.

All eyes would once again be on Parvez Rasool, the first player from Kashmir to be selected to play for India and in the absence of R Ashwin, he would certainly play a part. His spells in Zimbabwe could be vital to India's prospects in the series. With Ravindra Jadeja, he will be expected to form a potent spin combination against a line-up of batsmen, who have not exactly grown up to a heavy doze of slow bowling.

Zimbabwe on the other hand, would be just as keen to make an impression even as their new coach Andy Waller expects India's replacements to be equally threatening. He wants his wards to be realistic and just compete with the Indians and maybe even surprise them in one of the games. They are the underdogs and the hosts are not pretending to be otherwise. Zimbabwe know that all the pressure would be on India; they are the bigger force, they are the ones burdened with expectations and they are the ones with players' careers possibly on the line.

Zimbabwe will field a full-strength team, which boasts of their most balanced middle-order in recent times. Sean Williams, the hero in Zimbabwe's victory over Bangladesh is in great form. Captain Brendan Taylor, Hamilton Masakadza and Vusi Sibanda are dangerous players, who can turn it on on their day. Taylor's 72-ball 80 in a World Cup game against Sri Lanka in 2011 (albeit in a losing cause) against the likes of Malinga, Kulasekara and Muralitharan should make the Indians wary of him.

This is not a series without any significance. It is a chance for India's younger players to stake their claim for higher honours, a chance for Kohli to show that he is ready to move towards Dhoni's big shoes and a golden opportunity for the hosts to announce themselves again to the international fraternity.