TEST Records

BATTING RECORDS

MOST RUNS

HIGHEST BATTING AVERAGE

HIGHEST INDIVIDUAL BATTING SCORE

MOST DOUBLE HUNDREDS

BOWLING RECORDS

MOST WICKETS

BEST BOWLING AVG

FIVE OR MORE WICKETS

Zimbabwe v India, 1st ODI, Harare

Audition for India's next-in-line

The Preview by Liam Brickhill in Harare

July 23, 2013

Comments: 77 | Login via  | Text size: A | A

Match facts

Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Start time 0900 local (0700 GMT)

	The series will also test Virat Kohli's captaincy, in MS Dhoni's absence for the whole tour © AFP  Enlarge
Related Links News : 'We might surprise them in one of the games' - Waller News : Kohli praises young mates for successful transition Matches: Zimbabwe v India at Harare Series/Tournaments: India tour of Zimbabwe Teams: India | Zimbabwe

Big Picture

Zimbabwe and India were regular sparring partners in the mid to late nineties, but India have only visited the country thrice since 2000 and haven't invited the Zimbabweans over since 2002. For the hosts, the upcoming series could well be the marquee cricketing event of the year, and India also have their reasons to make the most out of this trip.

The presence of five potential one-day international debutants suggests that India are keen to try out a couple of new options, particularly with the ball, and the series will also allow Virat Kohli to add to his CV as the heir to the captaincy after mixed results at the helm in the Caribbean. These five games may not be entirely indicative of the future of the Indian team, but they will offer some enlightening clues.

They'll also serve as an early audition for an event of far greater consequence to India: their trip to South Africa at the end of the year. India's preparations for that tour also include a visit by the A side to South Africa in August. Despite the modesty of the opposition there's ample reason for the visitors to take these games seriously.

For their own part, Zimbabwe will be happy with the chance to test themselves against quality opponents, and also ease some financial pressures with the tour likely to turn a profit thanks to the lucrative television rights deals that India bring with them. Indeed, after the paucity of international fixtures last year, Zimbabwe are proving a far more popular destination in 2013 with Pakistan and Sri Lanka both visiting before the end of the year.

The Zimbabweans also won't have forgotten India's last tour in 2010, when an inexperienced touring group battled to compete with either the hosts or Sri Lanka in the tri-series and failed to make the final. Zimbabwe's squad has been training together for more than two months to prepare for these ODIs, and it's possible that they could register a rare win against elite opposition in one or two of the matches. The series opener could well be their best chance to do that.

Form guide

(most recent first, last five completed games)
India WWWLL
Zimbabwe WWLLL

In the spotlight

Court orders new PCB election

The Islamabad High Court has ordered the acting PCB chairman Najam Sethi to hold an election for his office within 90 days. The High Court was responding to a petition filed by a former Rawalpindi Cricket Association official against the board elections held in May, when Zaka Ashraf was elected chairman for a four-year term under the new PCB constitution.

Ashraf was later suspended from his post by the High Court, after there were questions raised about the legality of his election. The High Court said the process had been "dubious" and "polluted" and Sethi was appointed as interim chairman during Ashraf's suspension.

The petitioner had also called for the suspension of the PCB's new constitution but the High Court ordered the new elections to be held under the same constitution. The petition has now been disposed.

Ashraf was the first-ever elected PCB chairman under the new constitution, which in February removed the system of the Patron of the board, the President of Pakistan, choosing the chairman. Nine governing board members endorsed Ashraf and the process was conducted without any prior announcement, the board revealing Ashraf's appointment through a press release.

After his election, however, Ashraf faced opposition from the regional associations of Punjab, Pakistan's largest province with 60% of country's population, for preventing them from being part of the board. Instead, two new regions without any first-class teams - Larkana and Dera Murad Jamali - were represented on the board.