Focus on Jaiswal's batting position as India ready to make statement vs ZIM

Team India will have a task to make a choice between Abhishek Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal ahead of the third T20I against ZimbabweAhead of the third T20I match against Zimbabwe the inclusion of Jaiswal Shivam Dube and Sanju Samson will give a formidable look to the Blues The series is currently levelled at 11 after Team India secured a 100run victory in the second T20I matchAbhishek Sharma has delivered a performance in the only second T20I appearance after coming off a great IPL 2024 seasonHowever Yashasvi Jaiswal with a handsome strike rate of 161 plus in 17 T20I matches including a hundred and four halfcenturies does have the first claim to be skipper Shubman Gills opening partner by virtue of being the reserve opener of the firstchoice T20 teamAlthough rare it is not uncommon for batters to be dropped in the very next match after a milestone innings A case in point was Manoj Tiwary immediately after his maiden ODI hundred against the West Indies in 2011 and Karun Nair after his triple hundred in a Test match against England in 2016But skipper Gill is unlikely to let that happen with his best friend since their U14 days and someone who scored his first international ton with a willow borrowed from the formerAlso ReadEuro 2024 Battle for glory Four European powerhouses vie for final berthSo it could well be a case of one of the two southpaws batting at one drop Sanju Samson who normally bats at No 3 for Rajasthan Royals might come in at No5 while Ruturaj Gaikwad who batted at No3 will probably drop down a place to No4Sai Sudharsan who was picked for the first two T20Is might make a way for Jaiswal ahead of the third T20ISamson will come in place of Dhruv Jurel who had a good outing behind the stumps Dube the only player who was a part of the T20 World Cup playing XI is likely to walk in to replace Riyan Parag The imposing batter could be an even bigger nemesis for the Zimbabwean spinners during the back10As far as Zimbabwe is concerned their batting has left a lot to be desired with scores of 115 while batting first and 134 in the second essay chasing 235On the Harare Sports Club track where there is a bit of extra bounce available for the spinners Ravi Bishnoi 624 from 8 overs and Washington Sundar 339 in 8 overs have proved to be unplayable at timesBishnoi who normally bowls 20 to 22 googlies in his 24 balls per match has varied his pace brilliantly and with home skipper Sikandar Raza being kept quiet the other batters havent looked good enough to counter the Indian bowling attackThe 13run shock defeat in the opener was a timely wakeup call for the young visiting side and it did well to play without five specialist bowlers in the second game where batting first became an advantageFor skipper Gill a good score would be a necessity after two dry games and he is just too good a player to fail thrice That could prove to be an ominous sign for the home team bowlers who dont have even one guy with express paceIn a nutshell it could be another onesided gameSquadsIndia Shubman Gill captain Yashasvi Jaiswal Abhishek Sharma Ruturaj Gaikwad Sanju Samson wk Shivam Dube Rinku Singh Washington Sundar Ravi Bishnoi Avesh Khan Mukesh Kumar Riyan Parag Dhruv Jurel Khaleel Ahmed Tushar DeshpandeZimbabwe Sikandar Raza captain Faraz Akram Brian Bennett Johnathan Campbell Tendai Chatara Luke Jongwe Innocent Kaia Clive Madande Wessly Madhevere Tadiwanashe Marumani Wellington Masakadza Brandon Mavuta Blessing Muzarabani Dion Myers Antum Naqvi Richard Ngarava Milton ShumbaWith PTI Inputs