ICC T20 World Cup 2022, IND vs ZIM: Karthik rested, Pant comes in as Men in Blue opt to bat

India is taking on Zimbabwe in Sunday's final Super 12 game of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in Melbourne. While the former has opted to bat first, Dinesh Karthik has been rested as Rishabh Pant comes in.

Having already sealed its semi-final berth earlier during the day, India will be facing off against minnows Zimbabwe in the final Super 12 encounter of the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup at the sold-out Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday. The Indians still have something to play for as they would be eyeing the top spot in the group table with a win here, upon which it would face England in the semis at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday. In contrast, a defeat would make them finish second and take on New Zealand on Wednesday at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).

The Men in Blue have won the toss and opted to bat, besides making a change, as veteran wicketkeeper-finisher Dinesh Karthik has been rested for the younger Rishabh Pant. "We will bat. It's the preference of the team to bat first, nothing to do with the pitch," said Indian skipper Rohit Sharma after winning the toss.

"We want to bat first and give a chance to our bowlers to defend. One change, Rishabh Pant plays instead of DK. He is the only guy who hasn't played a single game on this tour, including the warm-up games. We wanted to give him a game. Nothing changes. We need to do well as a team," added Rohit.

On the other hand, Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine commented, "We were looking to bowl first. The ball might skid through in the evening under lights. A couple of changes, Wellington [Masakadza] and [Tony] Munyonga are in, Milton has struggled a bit, and we wanted to give Tony a chance. Luke Jongwe has an injury, and we wanted the spin of Wellington."

Playing XI
IND: KL Rahul (vc & wk), Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (wk), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh.
ZIM: Wesley Madhevere, Craig Ervine (c), Regis Chakabva (w), Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Tony Munyonga, Ryan Burl, Tendai Chatara, Richard Ngarava, Wellington Masakadza and Blessing Muzarabani.