Ahead of the match, Team India will need to secure a win by a huge margin of runs to improve their net run rate in the ongoing marquee event. But former Team India cricketer Irfan Pathan feels that the "Men in Blue" should prioritise winning the clash
Irfan Pathan (Pic: File Pic)
Team India is set to take on Zimbabwe in the Super 8 match of the T20 World Cup 2026. The match will be played on February 26 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Ahead of the match, Team India will need to secure a win by a huge margin of runs to improve their net run rate in the ongoing marquee event. But former Team India cricketer Irfan Pathan feels that the "Men in Blue" should prioritise winning the clash.
"I really hope that approach of playing for net run-rate does not come into play at the start of the game. The priority should be winning the game first. So, perform well and try to win. Only then should you think about the run-rate," he said.
"If you start thinking about chasing the net run-rate of, say, the West Indies, that is almost impossible. That would mean beating teams like Zimbabwe and the West Indies by a margin of 100 runs, which is not easy in T20 cricket. So, I sincerely hope that when the Indian team plays these next two matches, the main focus is simply on winning first," added Pathan.
He also feels that Team India skipper Suryakumar Yadav should come to bat at number three and also explained the reason behind it.
"I think Surya can bat at number three. If you look at it from the team's point of view, I completely understand the conservative approach from Surya, especially because Abhishek has been getting out early. In the last game, Ishan Kishan got out in the first over. You do not want to expose Suryakumar Yadav at number three when he is so effective in the middle overs, striking at 160. If something goes wrong with the new ball, just one good delivery can get him out. So, I understand the thinking. However, they still need to consider batting Suryakumar Yadav at number three to break the monotony of having three left-handers at the top," said the 41-year-old former cricketer.
T20 World Cup 2026, Super 8: India vs Zimbabwe- Full squads
India: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Sanju Samson (WK), Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishan Kishan (WK), Rinku Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Abhishek Sharma, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Tilak Varma.
Zimbabwe: Graeme Cremer, Sikandar Raza (C), Ryan Burl, Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava, Dion Myers, Blessing Muzarabani, Tony Munyonga, Brad Evans, Ben Curran, Tadiwanashe Marumani (WK), Tashinga Musekiwa, Clive Madande (WK), Brian Bennett, Tinotenda Maposa.
(With ANI Inputs)
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