ZIM vs IND 1st T20 Match Prediction & Betting Tips
Just one week after India lifted the T20 World Cup in Barbados, they return to international action with their opening match of their tour of Zimbabwe. There will be five matches in this T20I series and this first game takes place on Saturday afternoon at the Harare Sports Club. Read on as we preview this clash. The match begins at 13:00 local time on July 6th.
Zimbabwe did not qualify for the 2024 T20 World Cup but many pundits think they have plenty of talent in their side and are much stronger than some of the teams who did participate in the tournament. They will need to be at their best throughout this game if they are to take a lead in the series.
Although only Shivam Dube from the side who won the T20 World Cup for India is in their squad for this series, they still have the type of depth which many teams could only dream of. India have excellent players with bat and ball so we predict they will take a lead in this series with a win in this match.
Zimbabwe vs India 1st T20 Match Live Streaming
TV channels: You can watch this match live on Sony Sports.
Live Streaming: The fixture will be live-streamed on Sony Liv.
ZIM vs IND Match Toss Prediction
The last six T20Is at the Harare Sports Stadium have been won by the team fielding first so we are predicting that both captains will want to field first ahead of this match.
ZIM vs IND Pitch Report
Although it is usually the pace bowlers who have the most success at the Harare Sports Stadium, we do expect there to be some turn for the spinners. A par score will be at least 160 in this match.
Harare Weather Report
Cloudless skies are forecast on Saturday afternoon in Harare with the temperature likely to be around 25 degrees throughout this T20I. There will be low humidity and a very slight wind.
Read on for team previews, betting tips, latest odds, and match prediction for Zimbabwe vs India 1st T20 2024
Zimbabwe Team News & Playing 11
ZIM Team News
Ahead of this series, Zimbabwe announced a 17-man squad which seemed to show a movement away from the likes of Craig Ervine and Sean Williams and an emphasis on younger players. Throughout this five match series they will be led by Sikandar Raza.
ZIM Key Players
- Brian Bennett – The all-rounder only made his international debut in December of last year but he looks likely to be the player who Zimbabwe will build their side around for years to come.
- Sikandar Raza – The Zimbabwe skipper has been playing plenty of T20 cricket recently in the Vitality Blast and on his day is a match-winner in all types of white ball cricket.
- Richard Ngarava – The pace bowler is expected to take the new ball in this opening game of the series and he has shown ability to take wickets on all surfaces over the last 12 months.
- Blessing Muzarabani – The 27 year old right-arm fast medium bowler can be expensive at times but comes into this match after taking six wickets from his last three T20Is.
ZIM Team Form
Zimbabwe won their last T20I but lost their previous four games in this format.
Zimbabwe Predicted Playing 11
Innocent Kaia, Clive Madande (wk), Sikandar Raza (c), Brian Bennett, Wesley Madhevere, Faraz Akram, Jonathan Campbell, Blessing Muzarabani, Luke Jongwe, Richard Ngarava, Tendai Chatara
India Team News & Playing 11
IND Team News
With Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja all announcing their retirement from T20I cricket after the T20 World Cup success, this series provides an opportunity for a new generation of players to make a play for a place in India’s side. Shubman Gill leads a fully fit squad for this match.
IND Key Players
- Shubham Gill – The 24 year old right-hander has an excellent Indian Premier League record and he will look to attack at the top of the order in this game.
- Rinku Singh – The left-hander relishes the role of ‘finisher’ in T20 cricket and, with his strike-rate of 176.23 in T20Is, he will be key for India in the second half of the innings.
- Ravi Bishnoi – The spin bowler has some excellent variations and he also frustrates batters with his consistent lengths which talented players struggle to get away.
- Avesh Khan – The right-arm pace bowler can sometimes be expensive in international cricket but he retains the ability to take wickets on a regular basis across all formats.
IND Team Form
India won all of their matches in the recent 2024 T20 World Cup but this is a completely changed side.
India Predicted Playing 11
Shubman Gill (c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Rinku Singh, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Abhishek Sharma, Avesh Khan, Tushar Deshpande, Ravi Bishnoi
Zimbabwe vs India Head to Head
India lead the overall head to head 6-2 after eight matches in this format. They last met in a T20I in November 2022 with India winning by 71 runs. Zimbabwe’s last victory over India in this format was by two runs in 2016.
ZIM vs IND Head to Head Stats in T20s
| Matches Played | ZIM Won | IND Won | Tie | NR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Last 5 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Zimbabwe vs India Betting Odds
Zimbabwe the hosts are the outsiders with the bookies who have priced them at 6.50 ahead of the game. The new T20 World Cup holders, India, are favourites at 1.10.
Who will win Zimbabwe vs India 1st T20 Match?
There are some really talented players in the Zimbabwe squad but player for player they are up against a far superior side with both bat and ball for India in this series.
🏆 Zimbabwe vs India Prediction
With India the new T20 World Cup holders, there will be plenty of attention on Shubman Gill’s side throughout this series. Zimbabwe have home advantage but India’s players have much more big game experience. We expect a competitive game but are backing India to win this opener.
