Zimbabwe may have lost all three matches they have played at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in Hyderabad, but the venue has a very special place in their cricketing lore. It was here that David Houghton fashioned an epic 142 as Zimbabwe fell just three runs short of a stunning victory against New Zealand during the Reliance World Cup in 1987. It took a catch of unimaginable brilliance from Martin Crowe to cut short the Houghton odyssey, but the innings no doubt played a vital role in Zimbabwe being granted Test status so quickly. Fifteen years on, they come to the city of the Charminar with a spring in the collective step and more than a hint of a smile. Written off as the whipping-boys of one-day international cricket, they find themselves 2-1 ahead in a best-of-five series against an Indian team that supposedly has a legitimate shot at winning next year's World Cup. And there's been nothing fluky about their performances either. True, it took a once-in-a-lifetime innings from Douglas Marillier to see them home at Faridabad, but India had no such excuses when it came to the six-wicket pasting they got at Kochi.

The selectors are furious, and for once, you can't fault them. Some might cite the absence of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, but that's no excuse at all. Let's face facts. This is a Zimbabwe team that was pounded to pulp by England at home. Also the same team that were bowled out for 38 by Sri Lanka in a recent triangular series. In other words, a side that India should be beating with their eyes closed.

Failure to deliver at Hyderabad and Guwahati could result in as many as half the squad having a close encounter with the cold steel of the executioner's axe. Changes have already been made midstream, and it's clear that this is a team on trial. Sarandeep Singh gets the cold shoulder after just one poor game, allowing Murali Kartik to stake his claim for the long haul to the Caribbean in three weeks' time. Kartik is a left-arm spinner in the classical mould, with a high arm action and a loop out of a roller-coaster, and India will hope that Zimbabwe prove to be as inept against left-arm spin as they themselves have been.

Yuvraj Singh is another prodigal likely to be welcomed back to the fold. Sanjay Bangar doesn't have the firepower to launch a late-innings blitz and Yuvraj, for all his statuesque footwork and other frailties, is a better bet on placid Indian pitches. The big names will also be under scrutiny, none more so than the local hero, VVS Laxman. It's now exactly a year since his Kolkata heroics, and he needs to be similarly inspired in the next two games in order to avoid following the West Indian tour from a TV set at home. As for Dinesh Mongia and Mohammad Kaif, it's consolidation time. They have batted themselves into the spotlight, now the task in hand is to stay there.

As for Zimbabwe, they have no such worries. When you have nothing to lose and a series to gain, life can be beautiful. The emphatic nature of their Kochi victory suggests that it could be India that leave this historic city with the strains of Hyderabad Blues ringing in their ears.

Teams
India probable: 1 Sourav Ganguly (capt), 2 Dinesh Mongia, 3 VVS Laxman, 4 Mohammad Kaif, 5 Rahul Dravid, 6 Yuvraj Singh, 7 Ajit Agarkar, 8 Ajay Ratra (wk), 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Murali Kartik, 11 Zaheer Khan.

Zimbabwe probable: 1 Alistair Campbell, 2 Dion Ebrahim, 3 Travis Friend, 4 Andy Flower, 5 Grant Flower, 6 Stuart Carlisle (capt), 7 Douglas Marillier, 8 Heath Streak, 9 Tatenda Taibu (wk), 10 Pommie Mbangwa, 11 Douglas Hondo.

Dileep Premachandran is assistant editor of Wisden.com India.

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