What Third match of the three-ODI series between Zimbabwe and India When July 14, Tuesday, 12:30 IST | 07:00 GMT Where Harare Sports Club, Harare, Zimbabwe The Teams Zimbabwe They showed immense grit and a stomach for fight in the first match, almost snatching a win from the jaws of defeat. But in the second ODI, Zimbabwe fell well short of India in every department, plunging to a 62-run defeat. The worrying factor for the hosts was that it was their batting – which has been their strength in recent times – that let them down. With the exception of Chamu Chibhabha (72), no batsman went past 35 runs. Like in the first match, there was no one to accompany the set batsman long enough to form a partnership as they lost wickets at regular intervals. On the bowling front, the hosts did well in the first match to take advantage of the morning conditions and pick early wickets. But they couldn’t get past the solid Indian openers in the second game and let them build a strong foundation with a hundred-run stand. If their captain manages to win the toss for the third time in a row, the bowlers will have to step up and do early damage. If they bat first, their task will get that much more difficult on the eased out wicket under the sun. India With 2-0 up and the series already in the bag, Team India will be keen to make it a perfect series by winning the third ODI. They have obviously done many things right to be in this position in the first place. The bowlers have been impressive, never letting a partnership flourish long enough to take the game away from them. And they have done so in the lesser conducive conditions during the second innings. While the top-order fumbled in the first instance, letting the innings drift to 85 for 5, it was Ambati Rayudu and Stuart Binny in the middle-order who revived it to get the team to a competitive score. The openers came on their own in the second game and saw through the difficult first 15 overs with élan. The key to India’s win in both ODIs was one big partnership. Another common factor was runs from Ambati Rayudu, who followed up his century in the first game with an assured 41 in the second. With him out from the rest of the series with an injury, the likes of Robin Uthappa, Manoj Tiwary and Kedar Jadhav will have to step up. Rayudu’s absence will also present Manish Pandey with an opportunity he has been waiting for. One aspect the Indians can improve on is the fielding. If they can do away with the odd misfield and dropped catch while maintaining their good batting and bowling display, they will be more than a handful for the Zimbabweans. Key players Zimbabwe Neville Madziva was penciled in into the playing XI for the second ODI due to the injury to Tinashe Panyangara. And he proved his worth by picking up four wickets. He was particularly impressive in the last 10 overs, during which he scalped three wickets. A new commodity with only six ODIs to his name, Madziva could once again prove to be Chigumbura’s surprise weapon against the Indians. India While it was a batsman who bagged the man of the match award in both the ODIs, the contribution of Bhuvneshwar Kumar was crucial in getting India the two wins. It was his parsimonious spell (10-1-35-1) and perfect execution of yorkers in the death that got India over the line in the first match. On the second occasion Bhuvi scalped the wickets of all three batsmen – Chibhabha, Elton Chigumbura and Graeme Cremer – who could pose danger to India, and finished with brilliant figures of 10-3-33-4. After a few tough months marred by injury, Bhuvi seems to have regained his bowling rhythm and his development as a mean death bowler has given India a definitive edge. Ajinkya Rahane will expect his spearhead to deliver one final blow on Tuesday. Statistics Head to Head in One-Day Internationals MtsInd wonZim wonTiedOverall5947102in Zimbabwe191540at Harare121020 Performance in 2015 MtsWonLostTiedNRWin%India171060158.82Zimbabwe1119019.09 Bilateral series between Indian and Zimbabwe SeasonHostCaptainsWinner2015ZimbabweAjinkya Rahane – Elton ChigumburaIndia 2-0*2013ZimbabweVirat Kohli - Brendan TaylorIndia 5-02001-02IndiaSourav Ganguly - Stuart CarlisleIndia 3-22000-01IndiaSourav Ganguly - Heath Streak #India 4-11998-99ZimbabweMohammad Azharuddin- Alistair CampbellIndia 2-11996-97ZimbabweSachin Tendulkar - Alistair CampbellZimbabwe 1-01992-93IndiaMohammad Azharuddin- Dave HoughtonIndia 3-01992-93ZimbabweMohammad Azharuddin- Dave HoughtonIndia 1-0 Trivia Zimbabwe have chased down a victory target of 250 or more at Harare only once out of 24 attempts. India have consumed fewer dot balls (53.1% as against 58.9%) and have taken more singles, twos and threes (39.1% as against 33.2%) than Zimbabwe in the series. Zimbabwe batsmen have, however, hit higher percentage - only marginally though- of boundaries (7.9% as against 7.8%). Ajinkya Rahane is seventh Indian to win first two ODIs as captain after Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Ajay Jadeja, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. Squads Zimbabwe: Elton Chigumbura (Captain), Sikandar Raza Butt, Regis Chakabva, Chamunorwa Chibhabha, Graeme Cremer, Neville Madziva, Hamilton Masakadza, Richmond Mutumbami, Tinashe Panyangara, Vusimuzi Sibanda, Donald Tiripano, Prosper Utseya, Brian Vitori, Malcolm Waller and Sean Williams. India: Ajinkya Rahane (Captain), Murali Vijay, Sanju Samson, Manoj Tiwary, Kedar Jadhav, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Harbhajan Singh, Axar Patel, Dhawal Kulkarni, Stuart Binny, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Sandeep Sharma.