Chennai, February 25 – Zimbabwe all-rounder Ryan Burl said his team has thoroughly prepared for their Super Eights match against India, which will be held at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Thursday, adding that they are aware of India’s recent struggles against spin bowlers in the tournament.
Both India, the defending champions, and Zimbabwe will enter the crucial match with the aim of winning and keeping their slim hopes of reaching the semi-finals alive. India’s batting unit has found it difficult to handle spin bowling in the tournament – losing 19 wickets to spinners with a run rate of 7.5 and an average of just 18.2, the lowest among the Super Eights teams.
This vulnerability has been particularly pronounced against off-spin in the powerplay, where India has lost four wickets to this type of bowling. With Zimbabwe having players like Burl, captain Sikandar Raza, and Graeme Cremer handling the spin bowling department, the trio are well-prepared to challenge the wobbly Indian batting order.
“First of all, thank you for acknowledging that Zimbabwe has some quality spinners. That’s obviously a nice compliment, and we’re doing a lot of our homework. It’s not that we’re doing more or less homework just because it’s India.
“We take each game as it comes. I won’t give away too many secrets about how we’re going to approach tomorrow, but yes, obviously what you have said is correct, and it’s something that we are aware of, have taken into account, and it would be foolish to ignore it going into tomorrow's game.
“It’s also about the match-ups – what are their and our strengths, and how can we exploit any small advantages that we have in our favour. So, it’s something that we have to take into account,” said Burl in the pre-match press conference.
He also confirmed that Raza, who had a hand injury scare during the match against West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, is fit to play against India. “Sikandar Raza is 100% playing. Good luck telling him that he’s not going to play against India, and yes, he’s going to be playing.”
Burl has two wickets from four outings in the ongoing T20 World Cup and said he is aware of the importance of Thursday’s match for both teams. “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 semi-finals, we both want to win tomorrow's game.
“So, we are excited, and obviously, we don’t get to play India very often, so we’ve really been looking forward to this, and we will grab the opportunity with both hands. 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, and pressure does funny things to teams. Obviously, it being a World Cup, there’s that added pressure as well. So, we’ve obviously got our processes that we want to go through. And hopefully, we can execute those tomorrow,” he added.
