For the first time ever, India (IND) will clash against Zimbabwe (ZIM) in the T20I World Cup history, on 6 November 2022 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). This also happens to be the last match of the super 12 stage for both teams. After Pakistan's win over South Africa on Thursday, the recent development of the group 2 points table suggests that the game between India and Zimbabwe is a must-win for Men in Blue to qualify for the semi-final and a loss here can cost them the ticket to the next round despite topping the table currently. ICC T20 World Cup 2022: New Zealand Secure Semi Final Spot With Dominating Victory Over Ireland in Super 12 Encounter

The two teams have faced each other seven times in the T20 internationals. And India have clearly dominated the format with five wins. India might seem the clear favourites in the upcoming clash, however, the ongoing T20 World Cup has witnessed some big upsets which will be well in the mind of Rohit Sharma and his side. Ahead of the crucial contest on Sunday, here's a look at the head-to-head stats in the T20I between India and Zimbabwe.

IND vs ZIM, 22 June 2016, India won by 3 runs

In the third T20I of India's tour to Zimbabwe, India were invited to bat first by the hosts. Kedar Jadhav hit 58 off 42 along with multiple cameos by KL Rahul (22), Ambati Rayudu (20) and Axar Patel (20) which aided India to a total of 138 runs in 20 overs. In response, except the opener Chamu Chibhabha, all other Zimbabwean top and middle-order batters scored double digits to take the game as close as possible. Vusi Sibanda top scored 28 off 23 balls followed by Peter Moor's 26 off 21. Tymycen Maruma's 23 off 13 looked as if the batter will lead the side home but Indian bowling excellence restricted them to 135 in 20 overs and registered a 3-run victory. Barinder Sran and Dhawal Kulkarni both scalped two wickets meanwhile spinners Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal took one wicket each.

IND vs ZIM, 20 June 2016, India won by 10 wickets

In the second T20I of India's tour to Zimbabwe in Harare, the hosts elected to bat first. Barinder Sran and Jasprit Bumrah both delivered the sensational four-over spell to restrict Zimbabwe to a meagre total of 99 runs. Sran scalped four wickets and conceded just 10 runs whereas Bumrah took three wickets and gave away just 11 runs. Peter Moor attempted to push his team to a decent total and remained the top scorer with 31 off 32 balls, but failed due to no support from the other side as wickets kept falling at regular intervals. In response, Indian openers KL Rahul and Mandeep Singh completed the target in 13.1 overs. Mandeep Singh scored 52 off 40 while KL Rahul scored 47 off 40 balls to register a 10-wicket win with 41 balls remaining.

IND vs ZIM, 18 June 2016, Zimbabwe won by 2 runs

In the first T20I of India's tour to Zimbabwe in Harare, India after winning the toss elected to field first. Zimbabwe hammered the Indian bowlers and put a good total of 170 on the board in 20 overs. Elton Chigumbura contributed majorly and smashed a valuable 54 off 26 down the order. Before Elton, the two openers, Hamilton Masakadza (25) and Chamu Chibhabha (20) both had scored double digits along with middle-order batsmen Malcolm Waller (30) and Sikandar Raza (20) to help the team pass a decent total. As India came into bat, Donald Tiripano struck early on as he got KL Rahul on a golden duck on the first ball of the very first over. Mandeep Singh's 31 off 27 and Manish Pandey's 48 off 35 steadied the Indian innings however the tight bowling by Zimbabwe in the last over restricted India to 168 as the hosts won by 2 runs.

IND vs ZIM, 19 July 2015, Zimbabwe won by 10 runs

In the second T20I of India's tour of Zimbabwe, the hosts after winning the toss elected to bat first. The Zimbabwean opener Chamu Chibhabha played an impactful inning of 67 off 51 balls to lead his team to an average total of 145 runs. Apart from Chibhabha, Hamilton Masakadza added 19 and Sean Williams 17 to the final score. The rest of the batters could contribute in single digits only. As India came into bat, captain Ajinkya Rahane got unlucky in the very first over after getting run out by Chibhabha. Robin Uthappa and Murali Vijay stitched a 53-run partnership for the second wicket to steady the innings. However, Graeme Cremer bowled Murali Vijay out followed by Manish Pandey's wicket in the same over, which shifted the momentum towards Zimbabwe. In the very next over, Sean Williams got a big wicket of Uthappa who had scored 42 off 25 runs. Zimbabwe kept pulling off wickets and restricted India to 135 in 20 overs, winning by 10 runs.

IND vs ZIM, 17 July 2015, India won by 54 runs

In the first T20I of the India tour of Zimbabwe, India won the toss and was elected to bat first. India started off well with an opening stand of 64 runs between captain Ajinkya Rahane and Murali Vijay who scored 33 and 34 runs respectively. This was followed by Robin Uthappa's unbeaten 39 off 35 and Manish Pandey's run a ball 19 which helped India to put 178 runs on the board. As Zimbabwe came into bat, openers gave the hosts a fine start with 55 runs. However, as soon as Harbhajan Singh dismissed Chamu Chibhabha on 23 off 27, the wickets kept falling one after the other. Hamilton Masakadza top-scored 28 off 24 and lost his wicket to Axar Patel, who bowled a tremendous spell of 3/17 in 4 overs. Zimbabwe was restricted to 124 runs in 20 overs as India won by 54 runs.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 04, 2022 04:49 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).