Online Reporter
Eddie Chikamhi
Zimpapers Sports Hub
ZIMBABWE are taking the defeat to West Indies in their opening Super Eight match of the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup as a reality check, but they will need to be a bit smarter ahead of an equally challenging task against hosts and defending champions India tomorrow.
Chevrons coach Justin Sammons, reckoned tough lessons were learnt after his side succumbed to their first defeat at the tournament; ending a fairy-tale run that had grabbed the attention of the global cricket fraternity.
On Monday, they met the West Indies at their most ruthless and suffered a massive 107-run loss at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
For a side that had shown unmistakable signs of progress, the defeat was demoralising.
But instead of burying their heads in the sand, Sammons believes the Chevrons have to grab some lessons from Monday’s defeat.
He challenged the players to face their fears head-on, especially as they prepare to take on co-hosts India, who are still recovering from an equally disappointing defeat to South Africa in their first Super Eight match on Sunday.
“Yeah, I think we know the way India is going to come out, and it’s going to be very similar to the way West Indies approached their innings.
“They’re not going to hold back,” said Sammons.
“So, there’ll be good learnings from that (defeat) and how we deal with that under pressure at the moment how do we stay calm and just think on our feet and also just try and change things up a little bit and disrupt the rhythm of the batters.
“I think we were a bit, if I can say, predictable (against West Indies).
“I think we can be a little bit smarter in that regard.”
The Zimbabweans surprised all and sundry at this tournament with a dazzling script laced with victories over Australia and co-hosts Sri Lanka to finish top of Group B.
But they had such a bad day in the office in all departments on Monday.
They were inconsistent with the ball, and the sloppiness on the field contradicted their brilliance in the group stages.
This also saw the dangerman Shimron Hetmyer dropped twice before his record half-century powered the Windies to the highest score at the tournament, 254/6.
The Windies surpassed the 235/5 scored by Ireland against Oman, thanks to Hetmeyer’s 34-ball 85, Rovman Powell’s half ton and equally destructive cameos from Jason Holder, Shefarne Rutherford and Romario Shepherd.
The West Indies batsmen came good at the Wankhede Stadium, famed for its shorter boundaries.
But it was always going to be difficult for Zimbabwe to chase such a big target in unfamiliar conditions.
“If we look at it, I think there’s probably only three of our starting 11 that have played in India before.
“So, for eight players, it’s the first time. You know, it’s completely different conditions. Grounds are smaller, so there’s massive learnings that the group will take. We take those learnings, and we look ahead to the next game.
“You know, we’ve come here looking at one game at a time, and nothing’s going to change. The next game is our focus now, and we park the disappointment. We take the learnings, and we move on,” said Sammons.
Zimbabwe will play India at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai tomorrow.
They arrived in the city yesterday from Mumbai and will train today.
India have been in Chennai since Monday.
“Obviously, Chennai will be a bit bigger, and we probably will be a little bit more at ease in that aspect there, you know. Not only with the ball, but also with the bats.
“Against West Indies, I think we shifted away from the process that we’ve sort of tried to stick to, and we got unstuck through that. So, I think we’ll be a little bit more comfortable (in Chennai).
“But we know India are going to come out playing. So, there’s good learning there, and then, obviously, we can move to Delhi from there (to face South Africa in the last Group One match),” said Sammons.
The defeat to West Indies confined Zimbabwe to the bottom of the table in Group One, with an inferior net run rate of -5.350.
Their chances of progressing to the semis are now slim.
India also had a nightmarish start, suffering a 76-run defeat to South Africa to concede a net run rate of -3.800.
With South Africa and India on the upper hand to progress to the semi-finals, India are in grave danger of failing to defend their second T20 World Cup title they won in 2024.
The hosts need a big performance against Zimbabwe tomorrow as well as against the West Indies at the weekend in their last group match of the Super Eight campaign.
According to the group permutations, India require a massive victory of around 100 runs or more to improve their NRR and keep their semi-final hopes alive, ahead of the clash with West Indies.
