The first ODI between India and Zimbabwe saw the former making it a one-sided affair on Thursday. After India’s stand-in skipper KL Rahul won the toss, he opted to bowl first against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club. India bundled out Zimbabwe for 189 runs, thanks to Axar Patel (3 for 24), Deepak Chahar (3 for 27), Prasidh Krishna (3 for 50) and Mohammed Siraj (1 for 36). In reply, Indian openers Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill made mockery of Zimbabwe’s total as they stitched an unbeaten 192-run stand for the first wicket to help India win the game with 115 balls to spare.

India and Zimbabwe will be facing each other next at the same venue on Saturday (August 20). While India will look to seal the three-match series with a win, the hosts will try to give a better challenge to the guests.

Here is what we think could be India’s playing XI in the second ODI vs Zimbabwe:

Shikhar Dhawan: Though the southpaw scored his 81 runs off 113 balls, he made sure that he stayed at the crease to take India home comfortably. Dhawan’s strike rate was 71.68, while his innings was laced with nine fours.

Shubman Gill: The right-handed batter scored 82 not out off 72 balls in the first ODI vs Zimbabwe. He will look to continue his good form in the second game as well.

Ishan Kishan: In his three ODI innings so far, Ishan Kishan has scored a total of 88 runs with the help of a half-century that came in his debut match. In T20Is, Kishan has performed well for India and he will look to carry the confidence in ODIs as well.

KL Rahul: This is the first time after IPL 2022 that KL Rahul is playing an international series. While he didn’t get an opportunity to bat in the first game, he will look to get some runs under his belt in the upcoming matches against Zimbabwe.

Deepak Hooda: A big score has eluded Hooda since his century against Ireland. He needs to take his time in the middle and what better than the ODIs against Zimbabwe could present him the opportunity.

Sanju Samson: The right-handed wicketkeeper-batter has shown glimpses of brilliance in his brief international career so far, but what he has lacked is to take his innings deep more often than not.

Axar Patel: Besides being impressive with the ball in hand, Axar has also been good with his batting performance in the limited opportunities he has got. He returned figures of 3 for 24 in 7.3 overs in the first ODI vs Zimbabwe.

Deepak Chahar: It has been a good return from injury for Deepak Chahar. The right-arm pacer registered figures of 3 for 27 in 7 overs against Zimbabwe in the first ODI.

Kuldeep Yadav: While the spinner has been out of favour in the recent years, the ongoing Zimbabwe series gives him certainly the best of opportunities to make his case strong. He remained wicketless in the first ODI against Zimbabwe while conceding 36 runs in his 10 overs.

Promoted

Prasidh Krishna: The right-arm pacer returned figures of 3 for 50 in 8 overs in the first match against Zimbabwe in the ongoing series. A three-wicket haul would boost his confidence as the pacer was struggling to take wickets in the recent past.

Mohammed Siraj: The adaptive pacer picked only one wicket in the first ODI vs Zimbabwe, but he was economical. In the 8 overs bowled, Siraj conceded only 36 runs.