India vs Zimbabwe Live Streaming: How To Watch IND vs ZIM 1st T20I On TV And Online?

A young Indian team led by Shubman Gill will face Zimbabwe in a five-match T20I series starting Saturday. The first IND vs ZIM T20I will be played at the Harare Sports Club from 4:30 pm IST onwards.

All the fresh faces are expected to make their international debut during the series scheduled to be played entirely in the Zimbabwean capital.

Two young men, who are lined for debut could be Punjab's Abhishek Sharma, who had a stupendous IPL for Sunrisers Hyderabad and the young Assamese lad Riyan Parag, who has given ample demonstration of his capabilities as a competent T20 batter. Both of them tick all the boxes for this format.

The hosts, led by the gutsy Sikandar Raza, who played for Punjab Kings in the IPL recently, could prove to be a handful on nippy afternoons at the Harare Sports Club where the ball will jag around during the afternoon starts.

Some solid performances in this series will keep these youngsters in contention for the future when the first-team players of the world champion side are back on national duty.

Shivam Dube, Sanju Samson, and Yashasvi Jaiswal will be available from the third match onwards and some of the young men would only get a couple of games to prove their mettle.

While skipper Gill is expected to open, one needs to see whether his best friend Abhishek gets his maiden India cap or the seasoned CSK skipper and captain of the Asian Games gold medal-winning team Ruturaj Gaikwad ends up being the chosen one.

In case Abhishek opens, Gaikwad could come in at No.3 or swap positions with the Punjab southpaw. Parag's chances of a debut are brighter compared to Abhishek as he can bat at No. 4 in the first match, a slot he made his own for the Royals.

In the bowling department, Avesh Khan and Khaleel Ahmed, the two standbys during the T20 World Cup are certainties and Mukesh Kumar, who is a very steady death bowler could be the third seamer pipping Harshit Rana, who is a better slogger with the willow.

Washington Sundar with his all-round abilities will hold his place till Dube arrives while leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi is expected to play all games.

Shubman Gill understands how tough it is to replicate the imposing feats of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, but the young batting star wants to ease himself into the role of a T20I opener following retirement of the two modern-day greats from the format.

"I think Rohit Bhai was an opener and Virat Bhai also opened in this World Cup...I have also opened in T20s. So, I think I will want to open in T20Is," he said during the pre-match press conference here.

Gill said he wanted to pursue his goals without taking too much pressure while considering matching the two greats in Kohli and Rohit.

Asked how he will deal with the burden of expectations, Gill said: "Pressure and expectations...they I think always remain. But what Virat Bhai and Rohit Bhai have achieved, if I look to achieve that or reach that, it will be very difficult for me."

"Every player has his own goal, where he wants to reach. That is the pressure. If you want to reach where other people have reached, then you have more pressure," he said.

Sikandar Raza's vast experience of playing in various T20 leagues would certainly come in handy for an inexperienced Zimbabwe outfit, which would like to punch above its weight against a talented Indian side full of IPL performers, head coach Justin Sammons said ahead of the five-match series.

"I think we're very fortunate to have a player like Sikandar Raza leading the side. He brings great experience, We want him to lead from the front. He's been superb in the changing room and taking the players under his wing. We want his bat to do the talking. as well as his bowling," Sammons told PTI Videos in an exclusive interview from Harare.

Matches Played: 8, Won by India: 6, Won by Zimbabwe: 2

The IND vs ZIM 1st T20I will be broadcast live on the Sony Sports Network in India.

The India v Zimbabwe 1st T20I will be live-streamed on Sony LIV app and website.

Shubman Gill (C), Abhishek Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Riyan Parag, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (Wk), Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed.

Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Sikandar Raza (C), Johnathan Campbell, Antum Naqvi, Clive Madande (Wk), Wessly Madhevere, Luke Jongwe, Faraz Akram, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani.

(With PTI inputs)