‘Pressure does funny things’: Giant-killer Zimbabwe warn wounded India ahead of must-win clash
Zimbabwe all-rounder Ryan Burl says his team is aware of the task ahead against India but believes the pressure of a must-win T20 World Cup match could affect the hosts when the two teams meet on Thursday.
The Group 1 Super Eights clash at the MA Chidambaram Stadium is crucial for both teams after India lost to South Africa and Zimbabwe lost to West Indies.
“Yes, it’s a must-win game for us, but it’s also a must-win game for India. There’s obviously a lot at stake here, given that it’s a World Cup game and if we want to progress to the semi-final, we both want to look to win tomorrow’s game,” Burl said in the pre-match press conference.
“Obviously we don’t get the opportunity to play India often, so it’s something we’ve been looking forward to. Playing India in India is a challenge in itself. They obviously have the home advantage, but the added pressure from both teams has to win tomorrow’s game.
“Pressure does funny things to teams. And obviously, being a World Cup, there is also added pressure. We hope to execute our process tomorrow,” he added.
Burl said Zimbabwe’s bowling options could help them counter Indian batting.
“We do a lot of our homework. Obviously India have that firepower that allows them to go very strong in the powerplay and if they don’t lose wickets, they have guys who can go hard all the way through. We obviously have a lot of options (bowling) and that’s probably one of the advantages of Zimbabwe’s line-up.”
“We’ve got a left-arm seamer, a right-arm seamer, we’ve got a couple of leg-spinners, we’ve got an off-spinner, we’ve got a left-armer. So, we’ve got a lot of depth and I think it’ll probably just depend on the matchups based on the batters that are there and obviously the combinations that we’re looking to go for,” he added.
The all-rounder said the team had moved on from the defeat against the West Indies.
“To be honest, I think we can only take positives from this defeat. It sounds weird, but we haven’t really had a bad game until then. So there’s a lot of learning there.
“And in saying that, India obviously had their bad game against South Africa as well. So we’re both looking to bounce back, and there’s no better place than to do that tomorrow,” he said.
Burl also confirmed that captain Sikandar Raza is fit despite suffering a major knock in the previous match against West Indies.
“Sikandar Raza is playing 100%. Good luck telling him he won’t play against India. Yes, he will play,” he added.
