Online Reporter
Eddie Chikamhi
Zimpapers Sports Hub
HOSTS Zimbabwe need to come up with answers to India’s pace battery to save the series when the two teams clash in the second T20I cricket match at Harare Sports Club this afternoon.
Zimbabwe trail the three-match series 1-0, ahead of the last matches today and tomorrow. The Chevrons were left with a lot of work to do after they struggled with the quality of the visitors’ bowlers in the first T20I which ended in a seven-wicket defeat during the midweek. Zimbabwe were restricted to 125 runs after the top order wilted under the onslaught of the Indian attack. The Chevrons’ problems started when they lost the toss and were asked to bat first under the moist conditions that allowed a lot of seam movement.
They lost their big guns in the top order quiet cheaply before Wessly Madhevere and Tadiwanashe Marumani came into the picture with a decent 58-run partnership for the sixth wicket, which helped Zimbabwe cross the triple figure.
“I felt like India really bowled well to start off with,” said Madhevere.
“It wasn’t really easy to get going on that wicket. It’s quite a difficult wicket to just go there and try and express yourself. But I felt like they really bowled well. Obviously, we lost too many wickets in the pop-up days. It’s one of the things that we, the boys, will definitely look at and hopefully we’ll get it right the next game,” said Madhevere.
Madhevere felt they would need to improve on their batting, especially if they are asked to bat first again.
“It was a tricky one, to be honest, because it was a bit difficult to bat the first innings. But I’m sure moving forward, the boys will look at it and hopefully we’ll produce some better results,” he said.
India are the current T20 world champions but they came to Zimbabwe on the back of a seven-match winless run, which was their longest barren streak in T20I cricket.
The win should have reinvigorated the visitors ahead of the remainder of the brief series. But Zimbabwe will need to find a way to deal with their pace bowlers Mayank Yadav, Ashok Sharma and Prince Yadav.
India also have a strong batting line-up, including 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who proved a handful to the home bowlers with a record 19-ball fifty.
But the Chevrons, although they could not rise to the challenge in the first game, have refused to throw in the towel yet, with Madhevere keen to prove himself against the World Cup winners.
“It is motivating,” he said. “You’re playing the best in the world. It doesn’t get any better than that. It’s also a chance to showcase your talent.
“And I’m sure everyone in the training team is quite motivated. So is me. But yeah, it’s a good opportunity to play one of the best teams in the world,” he said.
But there is no denying the pressure that comes with today’s must-win game.
“It’s only a matter of trusting the process because there’s always going to be pressure. The only way to lift that pressure off your shoulders is to trust the process and go with the things that you know and the things that you put in your play,” said Madhevere.
Teams:
Zimbabwe: Sikandar Raza (c), Ben Curran, Innocent Kaia, Tadiwanashe Marumani (wk), Dion Myers, Tafadzwa Tsiga (wk), Brian Bennett, Ryan Burl, Brad Evans, Wesley Madhevere, Tanaka Chivanga, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Newman Nyamhuri.
India: Shreyas Iyer (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Tilak Varma (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Shivam Dube, Harsh Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Rinku Singh, Ashok Sharma, Prince Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav, Yash Thakur.
