Shivam Dube, left, captain Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya (AP Photo) After a big loss to a must-win South Africa, India will be looking for a quick restart in Thursday’s match against Zimbabwe at Chepauk…CHENNAI: The real World Cup is starting right now. India’s humbling loss to South Africa ensured that the mantle of invincibility was removed. The defeat forced the hosts into ‘knockout’ mode, starting with Thursday’s Super 8 match against Zimbabwe at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. It is essentially a Round of 16 match, followed by a ‘virtual quarter-final’ against the West Indies in Kolkata on March 1. But there is a catch — if the West Indies beat South Africa and South Africa Zimbabwe on Thursday afternoon, then even two wins may not be enough for India to advance to the semi-finals.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!West Indies’ 107-run win against Zimbabwe, coupled with India’s 76-run loss to South Africa, has left a huge Net Run Rate (NRR) gap that even two big wins may not bridge. While West Indies are +5.35, India are -3.8. Even before taking the field against Zimbabwe on Thursday, Suryakumar Yadav will be praying that South Africa keep their end of the bargain and beat the Windies in the day’s play.
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However, these are factors beyond India’s control. However, what India can do is beat Zimbabwe decently to boost their morale, which has taken a beating. Nothing worked for them against South Africa, but then it wasn’t a mistake. Abhishek Sharma is carrying the burden of four misses, Tilak Varma has looked a shadow of the batsman who won India the Asia Cup final in September last year and Surya has not fired on all cylinders since the USA match. When three of the top four are struggling for form, it’s a losing battle at this level.The problem with this Indian team is that the quality of the reserves is not good either. Sanju Samson, if pushed ahead of Tilaka and Ishan asked to bat at No.3, will be a forced pick. Sanju hasn’t done anything extraordinary with the bat in the chances he’s had so far, including the one in the World Cup. His inclusion will just be a desperate ploy to plug the hole.While that is one part of the story, the obvious course correction India will make in Chepauk is to bring back Axar Patel instead of Washington Sundar. Letting Axar sit against SA didn’t make tactical sense and it backfired badly. The only relief for India going into Thursday’s game will be the situation in which Zimbabwe find themselves. They made the Super 8 at the expense of Australia and thanks to some extremely gutsy performances in Sri Lanka. But the conditions in Sri Lanka, which favor their kind of pace-loving slower bowlers, are vastly different from those in India.Zimbabwe found that out the hard way against the West Indies at the Wankhede and the conditions at Chepauk are likely to be similar. If India’s two big hitters click on an unusually friendly pitch, it should be game over as Zimbabwe don’t seem to have the firepower to chase down say, 200-plus.Zimbabwe coach Justin Sammons has explained how the inexperience of playing in India can be a big hurdle for his team. “There are probably only three in our starting XI who have played in India before. So it’s a first for eight players. It’s a completely different condition (in Lanka), the pitch is smaller, so the group has a lot to learn. We’ll get over the disappointment and move on (from the West Indies game),” Sammons said.The coach knows how hungry India will be to turn things around after what happened in Ahmedabad. Their approach will be largely similar to that of West Indies where Abhishek & Co. they will try to destroy Zimbabwe by sheer weight of runs. What gives Samons a little hope is the fact that the Chepauk pitch is slightly bigger than the Wankhede, which should give their bowlers some respite.“India are not going to hold back. So we have to stay calm and think on our feet and try to change things up a bit to disrupt their batting rhythm. Chennai will be a bit bigger and that will probably make things a bit easier,” Samons said.For Zimbabwe to match this, a lot of things need to fall into place, with the form of all-rounder Sikandar Raza and paceman Blessing Muzarabani at the top of the list. The duo slipped out 94 from seven overs in Mumbai and it is up to the Indian power hitters to repeat and keep the hopes alive.
