'Pressure does funny things': Giant-killer Zimbabwe warn wounded India ahead of must-win clash

Chennai, India – Zimbabwe all-rounder Ryan Burl has served notice that the co-hosts are not the only side feeling the heat ahead of Thursday’s do-or-die Super Eights showdown at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, insisting that India’s status as favourites will count for little once the sides walk out for a match both must win to keep their T20 World Cup semi-final hopes alive.

“Yeah, it is a must-win match for us, but it’s also a must-win game for India,” Burl told reporters on the eve of the contest. “There’s obviously a lot at stake here, being a World Cup game and if we are to progress to the semifinals, we both want to look at winning tomorrow’s game.”

The equation is stark for both camps. India slipped against South Africa in their opener, while Zimbabwe’s defeat to the West Indies has left Group 1 delicately poised. Burl believes the weight of expectation inside a packed Indian stadium could yet tilt the contest Zimbabwe’s way.

“Pressure does funny things to teams. And obviously it being a World Cup, there’s that added pressure as well. We hope to execute our process tomorrow,” he said, adding that the African side have spent the short turnaround poring over plans to blunt India’s power-hitters.

“We’re doing a lot of our homework. Obviously, India’s got that firepower where they obviously go really hard in the power play and if they don’t lose wickets, they’ve got guys that can go hard throughout,” Burl noted. “We’ve obviously got a lot of options (in bowling) and that’s probably one of the advantages of the Zimbabwe lineup. We’ve got left-arm seamer, right-arm seamer, we’ve got a couple of leg-spinners, we’ve got an off spinner, we’ve got a left-arm offie. So, it will probably just come down to what are the match-ups.”

Zimbabwe will also take heart from the resilience shown in their previous outing. Despite a loss to the Caribbean side, Burl insists the squad has already extracted the lessons required to challenge India.

“To be honest, I think we can only take positives from that defeat. It sounds weird, but we hadn’t really had a bad game until then. So there is massive learning in that. And in saying that, India obviously also had their bad game against South Africa. So we’re both looking to bounce back, and no better place than to do that tomorrow.”

Team news is positive for the Chevrons, with inspirational captain Sikandar Raza set to lead the side despite copping a knock against the West Indies. “Sikandar Raza is 100% playing. Good luck telling him that he’s not going to play against India,” Burl laughed.

With qualification on the line and reputations at stake, Thursday night in Chennai promises a collision of desperation and ambition—exactly the scenario Zimbabwe’s giant-killers believe they can exploit.