India opt to bowl against Zimbabwe in fourth T20I, Tushar Deshpande makes debut

Harare [Zimbabwe], July 13 (ANI): India skipper Shubman Gill won the toss and elected to bowl first in the fourth T20I of the five-match series against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club on Saturday. Right-arm seamer Tushar Deshpande makes his debut in the shortest format of the game. He has replaced Avesh Khan in the line-up. The Men in Blue are currently leading the five-match T20I series 2-1, with the fifth and last match to be played on Sunday at the same venue.

"We'll bowl first. It looks like a fresh wicket. Hopefully, there's going to be something in it for the fast bowlers. Death bowling is where we can improve. We got a little complacent (in the previous match). Tushar Deshpande makes his debut in place of Avesh Khan," Gill said after winning the toss.

Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza said that if he had won the toss, he would have elected to bat first.

"We wanted to bat first. The wicket tends to get slower and slower. We've got a vision for 2026, the only way to get better is quality game time. Hopefully, our top three can click. Our idea is for all three departments to perform. The boys are hungry. Wellington Masakadaza misses out. Faraz Akram comes in," Raza said.

India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill (c), Abhishek Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Tushar Deshpande, Khaleel Ahmed.

Zimbabwe (Playing XI): Wessly Madhevere, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Brian Bennett, Dion Myers, Sikandar Raza (c), Johnathan Campbell, Faraz Akram, Clive Madande (wk), Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani, Tendai Chatara. (ANI)