Zimbabwe opt to bat first in third ODI

Zimbabwe captain Graeme Cremer won the toss and opted to bat first in the third and final One-Day International (ODI) against India at the Harare Sports Club here on Wednesday.

Having won both the previous ODIs, the Indians under skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be eager to pocket the third tie too and maintain their perfect record in this series. The hosts, meanwhile, will be desperate to prevent a series whitewash and come away with a consolation win.

If the Indians win this match, it will be the first ODI series whitewash India would have achieved under Dhoni away from home.

The visitors replaced Karun Nair with Faiz Fazal who will be making his international debut. Fazal will open the Indian batting along with Lokesh Rahul.

The teams:

India: Lokesh Rahul, Faiz Fazal, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Axar Patel, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jasprit Bumrah, Barinder Sran, Yuzvendra Chahal

Zimbabwe: Hamilton Masakadza, Chamu Chibhabha, Vusi Sibanda, Timycen Maruma, Malcolm Waller, Elton Chigumbura, Richmond Mutumbami, Graeme Cremer, Neville Madziva, Tawanda Mupariwa, Donald Tiripano

--IANS

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