Preview : India U19s v Zimbabwe U19s

India have made an impressive start to the tournament so far with two wins from two games. Their main concern ahead of their final group fixture against Zimbabwe is the fitness of right-arm quick Ishan Porel, who injured his foot during the victory against Australia.

Zimbabwe come into the match knowing that only a win will be good enough to qualify for the last eight, and even then they may still fail to do so if Australia beat Papua New Guinea in the other Group B fixture.

Form GuideIndia are yet to break a sweat in the tournament, opening with a 100-run victory over Australia and following that up with a comprehensive 10-wicket reversal of PNG to confirm their qualification for the quarter-finals. On current form, they will be hard to stop.

Zimbabwe have had mixed fortunes. They opened their account with thumping 10-wicket victory over PNG in a rain-shortened match but were then outclassed by Australia, losing by seven wickets and taking a dent to their net run rate in the process – something that could prove crucial in the shake-up for quarter-final qualification.

Players to watch Prithivi Shaw (Ind)

India's captain has lead his team from the front with scores of 94 and 57 not out so far in the tournament. A right-hand opener, Shaw has drawn comparisons with Sachin Tendulkar after starting his first-class career with five centuries from nine games. He will be the dangerman for Zimbabwe.

Milton Shumba (Zim)

A left-hand top-order batsman who can bowl slow left-arm orthodox, Shumba took three wickets and scored 45 runs in Zimbabwe’s warm-up loss to New Zealand. He wasn't required to bat in the first game against Papua New Guinea but took two wickets. Against Australia the 17-year-old only mustered 16 runs but this could be his chance to shine on the big stage.

Head to head

The two teams have met just once previously at the ICC U19 CWC, in 2012, the year India won their third tournament. Zimbabwe lost by 63 runs to a side that included Player of the Tournament, Unmukt Chand. The three other U19 games the two countries have played have also been one-sided, with India winning all of them.

World Cup history

India won their first title in 2000, with Yuvraj Singh claiming the Player of the Tournament award, a feat he would emulate for the senior side in 2011 as India won the ICC World Cup. The 2004 Player of the Tournament also came from India, though the Shikhar Dhawan-inspired side lost to Pakistan in the final. The 2008 side, captained by one Virat Kohli, also claimed the title, and India added a third triumph in 2012. In 2016 they came desperately close to securing a record-breaking fourth trophy, but were beaten by West Indies in a last-over thriller.

Zimbabwe have appeared at all 10 tournaments since 1998, with a best finish of sixth in 2004. They finished 10th at the most recent competition in 2016. Some notable individual performers include Mluleki Nkala in the 1998 edition, who was the joint-leading wicket-taker, Tinashe Panyangara, who took the second-best figures in the tournament’s history in 2004 – 6/31 as Australia were bundled out for 73 – and Tatenda Taibu, who was Player of the Series in 2002 for his run scoring, wicket taking, and, when he wasn’t bowling, wicket-keeping feats.

ForecastRainfall and heavy winds are expected at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.

Squads
**India:**Prithvi Shaw (c), Shubman Gill, Aryan Juyal, Abhishek Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Harvik Desai, Manjot Kalra, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Pankaj Yadav, Riyan Parag, Ishan Porel, Himanshu Rana, Anukul Roy, Shivam Mavi, Shiva Singh

**Zimbabwe:**Liam Roche (c), Gregory Dollar, Donald Mlambo, Tanunurwa Makoni, Jayden Schadendorf, Milton Shumba, Alistair Frost, Dion Myers, Nkosilatu Nunu, Jonathan Conolly, Wesley Madhevere, Kieran Robinson, Robert Chimhinya, Tinashe Nenhunzi, Taun Harrison