Zimbabwe vs. India, 1st T20I: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV Info, Preview

After losing the three-match ODI series against India 0-3, Zimbabwe now have a chance to try to make something out of the shortest format of the game.

Venue: Harare Sports Club, Harare, Zimbabwe

Date: Friday, July 17

Start time: 1 p.m. local time, 11 a.m. GMT

Live on: Super Sports (Zimbabwe), Ten Sports (India)

Weather:  According to AccuWeather.com, there are no problems with the weather. It's going to be pleasantly sunny, with temperatures of around 24 degrees Celsius.

Overview

Zimbabwe cricket has had little to be positive about in recent months. That only got worse following the recent ODI series against India, where they came close to getting a positive result just once.

In the first ODI, India eked out a four-run win as Zimbabwe came within a whisker of chasing down 256. Things didn't get much better than that, and, considering their record in Twenty20s, it looks like even more doom and gloom is on the way.

It's been two years since Zimbabwe beat a Test-playing nation in a T20, winning against Bangladesh back in 2013. Overall, though, their record is woeful. They have just three wins in their last 25 T20s, stretching back to 2010. They have only played two T20s against India, back in 2010, and, needless to say, they lost.

India have sent a second-string team to Zimbabwe, but even with so many unfamiliar names on the roster, they are firm favourites. The hosts’ coach, Dav Whatmore, still believes that his charges can make an impact, though. Following the ODI series defeat, he was quoted by ESPNCricinfo as saying:

"

That was a hugely disappointing effort in that first game. We honestly thought we should have won. When you get so close, and you don't, I think psychologically it becomes a little bit greater when you play the next one. We've got the potential, as you can see, we just need to transform our ability into performance, and that comes from here.

"

A switch in formats might be viewed as a clean slate, but Zimbabwe’s record remains poor, and overcoming that hurdle will be the toughest challenge of the series.

Key players

Zimbabwe

Elton Chigumbura was the only Zimbabwe player to score a century in the ODI series. Although he didn't contribute much more than his unbeaten 104, Chigumbura is one of the most experienced players in the Zimbabwe lineup, and they need their main man to lead from the front.

India

As ever, Bhuvneshwar Kumar continues to impress. He finished the ODI series with five wickets at an average of 16.00 and will be a key man up front in the T20 series.

Squads

Zimbabwe: Donald Tiripano, Prosper Utseya, Brian Vitori, Malcolm Waller, Sean Williams, Elton Chigumbura, Vusi Sibanda, Tinashe Panyangara, Richmond Mutumbami, Hamilton Masakadza, Chamu Chibhabha, Neville Madziva, Graeme Cremer, Sikandar Raza, Regis Chakabva

India: Ambati Rayudu, Sanju Samson, Sandeep Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Stuart Binny, Dhawal Kulkarni, Axar Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Manish Pandey, Robin Uthappa, Manoj Tiwary, Kedar Jadhav, Murali Vijay, Ajinkya Rahane