CUTTACK, April 8: Though Zimbabwe choked under pressure after being in a position of strength in the last two matches, the visitors have the capability to upset the applecart of the high-flying Indians when both the teams meet here at the Barabati Stadium on Thursday.Zimbabwe are no more babes in the international arena and with skipper Alistair Campbell promising to reverse the trend, keen fare is in store for cricket buffs. However, Indians who are on a roll these days, will be tough customers for the optimistic Africans. And their task is cut out with Azharuddin stating that the team will go all out to keep their slate clean despite being assured of a final berth. Zimbabwe lacked the will to win in their earlier encounters and only a determined show here will prove that they have grown up to the rigours of competitive cricket.The visitors have lost both their matches and a victory here on the morrow will put them on par with Australia while a loss will push them into a must-win situation againstAustralia and with a better run-rate in the last match.India's batting looks solid. Sachin Tendulkar who failed with the bat in the first two matches came back with a bang, smashing a century in 88 balls against Australia in Kanpur and also proved earlier that he can win matches for India with his variety of leg spin. The Bengal Tiger, Saurav Ganguly, too, displayed his roaring form after serving a one-match ban in the lung opener and Ajay Jadeja showed no signs of injury. Jadeja proved the depth of Indian batting by taking the team to a position of strength after early loss of wickets.Though southpaw Vinod Kambli, who scored tons of runs in the domestic cricket, failed to make the best use of his comeback, he did enough to retain his place in the team and Hrishikesh Kanitkar is developing into a genuine all-rounder.The Indian pace attack will rest in the hands of Venkatesh Prasad, who was a victim of the whims and fancies of the Board for long, in the absence of injured spearhead Javagal Srinath. Hewill be assisted by Ajit Agarkar, who bagged four wickets in the last encounter against Australia. Anil Kumble, who is back to his winning ways, will handle the spin department with Kanitkar and left arm spinner Rahul Sanghvi providing the support. And Azhar always has the option of introducing the magic of Tendulkar, to spin the opposition.Orissa's medium pacer Debashish Mohanty, who was left out of the Sharjah tour, also has a chance to be in the eleven, with Cuttack being his home ground.The main worry at the moment for Zimbabwe captain Alistair Campbell is the middle-order. The team needs a good knock from the skipper and his predecessor Grant Flower for a solid foundation, but more importantly the later batsmen including Murray Goodwin and vice-captain Andrew Flower should capitalise on the good start.Fast bowler Mpumelelo Mbangwa, the sole black player in the side, will assist the main strike bowler Heath Streak while all-rounder Paul Strang who injured his spinning finger is fit and had a goat the nets on Wednesday morning. However, Strang or leg spinner Adam Chukle, who took his place later, can make an impression on the Indians, who recently thrashed the myth of spin sensation Shane Warne, hitting him with gay abandon.Campbell said that the team gave a positive thought to the performance in the earlier matches and assured that ``things were sorted out.'' He said he was happy with the wicket but was not sure if the grass would remain on the morrow. Both the captains said that the final eleven would be decided in the morning.TEAMSINDIA: Mohd Azharuddin (c), Saurav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Vinod Kambli, Ajay Jadeja, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Nayan Mongia (wk), Anil Kumble, Ajit Agarkar, Venkatesh Prasad, Rahul Sanghvi, VVS Laxman, Debashish Mohanty and Harbhajan Singh.ZIMBABWE: Alistair Campbell (c), Andrew Flower (wk), Gary Brent, Craig Evans, Grant Flower, Murray Goodwin, Adam Huckle, Mpumelelo Mbangwa, Paul Strang, Heath Streak, Dirk Viljoen, Andrew Whittall, GuyWhittall and Craig Wishart.Umpires: R Nagarajan and Narender Menon. Third umpire: Subroto Bannerjee. Observer: Ajith Kumar.Match referee: Peter van der Merwe.(Match starts at 8.30 a.m.)
