India vs Zimbabwe T20 World Cup 2022 Predicted Playing 11: Rohit Sharma may try out Rishabh Pant with eye on semifinal

Team India will take on Zimbabwe in their final match of the Super 12 Group 2 stage of the T20 World Cup 2022 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday (November 6). Although Rohit Sharma’s side are at the top of the table in Group 2 but they must win in their final game against Craig Ervine’s side to ensure their progression into the last four stage.

India will look to top the group with a win over Zimbabwe and ensure that they can second-placed England from Group 1 in the second semifinal at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday (November 10). With wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik failing to fire so far in the tournament, fans will be hoping that Rishabh Pant is at least given one game in the T20 World Cup.

Karthik, who was struggling with back injury after the loss against South Africa at Perth last week, was once again preferred over Pant for the game against Bangladesh, which India managed to win by 5 runs (DLS method) at the Adelaide Oval. Team India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin harped on the fact that India can’t afford to take Zimbabwe lightly in their final match.

Adelaide

Hello Melbourne #TeamIndia | #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/wpuLMSBCTH — BCCI (@BCCI) November 4, 2022

“We need to be as clinical as possible. We know no team is a brush over. You still have to go there, counter the early phase with the bat and still bowl those good balls to be able to generate pressure. Good teams will be clinical and will pile the pressure on such days. It’s a must-win contest and we know that.

“Like in any other contest in the T20 World Cup, it’s a must-win encounter in this T20 World Cup. We are looking forward to the game. Zimbabwe have played some wonderful cricket. We can’t go there and expect them to crumble. They bowled and batted well. So, we respect that,” said Ashwin in the pre-match press conference.

It also remains to be seen whether leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal will be given a match, looking at the continued failure of Indian spinner Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin to consistently pick up wickets.

India vs Zimbabwe T20 World Cup 2022 Super 12 Group 2 match Predicted Playing 11

India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Dinesh Karthik/Rishabh Pant (wk), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami

Zimbabwe: Craig Ervine (c), Milton Shumba, Ryan Burl, Wesley Madhevere, Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams, Regis Chakabva (wk), Tendai Chatara, Luke Jongwe, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava