Chennai, February 25 Zimbabwe all-rounder Ryan Burl acknowledged the challenge of playing against India in their own territory, but expressed hope that the pressure of playing a crucial T20 World Cup game in front of a vocal home crowd could help his team defeat Suryakumar Yadav's team on Thursday.
The Group 1 Super Eights match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium is a must-win for both India and Zimbabwe after their respective defeats against South Africa and the West Indies.
"Yes, it's a must-win match for us, but it's also a must-win game for India. There's obviously a lot at stake here, being a World Cup game, and if we are to progress to the semifinals, we both want to aim to win tomorrow's game," Burl said in the pre-match press conference.
"Obviously, we don't get to play India often, so it's something that we've been looking forward to. Playing India in India is a challenge in itself. They obviously have a home ground advantage, but the added pressure of both teams needing to win tomorrow's game is significant.
"Pressure can do funny things to teams. And obviously, being a World Cup, there's that added pressure as well. We hope to execute our strategy tomorrow," he added.
Burl expressed hope that Zimbabwe's variety in bowling would give them an advantage against India.
"We've done a lot of preparation. Obviously, India has a strong batting lineup that they attack aggressively in the powerplay. If they don't lose wickets, they have batsmen who can dominate throughout the innings. We have a variety of options in our bowling attack, which is probably one of the advantages of the Zimbabwe team.
"We have left-arm fast bowlers, right-arm fast bowlers, we have leg-spinners, we have off-spinners, and we have left-arm off-spinners. So, we have a good range of options, and I think it will come down to how we match up against the batsmen and the combinations we choose," he added.
The all-rounder said that Zimbabwe had put their defeat against the West Indies behind them.
"To be honest, I think we can only take positives from that defeat. It might sound strange, but we hadn't really had a bad game until then. So, there's a lot to learn from that.
"And in saying that, India also had their bad game against South Africa. So, we're both looking to bounce back, and there's no better place to do that than tomorrow," he said.
Burl confirmed that captain Sikandar Raza is fit to play against India after sustaining an injury in the match against the Caribbeans.
"Sikandar Raza is 100% fit to play. It's hard to convince him that he won't be playing against India. Yes, he will be playing," he added.
