CHENNAI: Even before the Indian team arrived at the MA Chidambaram Stadium for the must-win clash against Zimbabwe on Thursday evening, everyone at the venue had their eyes glued to the televisions. South Africa was playing the West Indies in Ahmedabad, and the result mattered to India as much as the one they would want later that night. Zimbabwe win toss and elected to field.
Out on the field, preparations were underway for a musical performance by Anirudh Ravichander while a heavy roller was used on the pitch that was to be used. The West Indies, much to India's disappointment, recovered from an early collapse to post 176/8 in Ahmedabad.
And by the time South Africa began their chase, fans had started to filter into the stands. Different T-shirts bearing the names of Sanju Samson — soon to be Chennai Super Kings star in IPL — Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and of course MS Dhoni dominating. A few spatters of yellow as well in the stands with fans donning CSK jerseys — one of them even had a Pat Cummins Australia jersey on.
In one corner, Samson, who was speculated to come in, was the first to warm-up. Soon, he was joined by Rinku Singh who had flown back from Delhi after being with his ailing father. In the lead-up to the match, these two players were the key talking points. Samson — predominantly because the poor run from Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma — was in discussions to explore the possibility of having a right-hander at the top. The suspense only rose in the hour leading up the toss as Samson was nowhere to be seen. Everyone else continued their warm-ups and joined the team huddle while Samson joined them a little later. He then walked back to the dressing room with captain Suryakumar Yadav as the musical performance began
While Anirudh kickstarted with a Rajinikanth special to lift the spirits of the fans, Indian team would still be hoping that the toss goes their way as they bring their A game. Because by then, South Africa were cruising towards a comfortable win and now the onus was on them to beat Zimbabwe and go to Kolkata for a virtual quarterfinal against West Indies on Sunday.
Will Axar Patel replace Washington Sundar? Is Samson playing? What is happening to the batting line–up? All the questions were doing the rounds. Finally, Samson and Axar played.
That being said, irrespective of the XI they field, the defending champions have to come out all guns blazing and make a statement. For this is the only chance to bring their campaign on track. And they know it all too well.