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Tadious Manyepo in CAPE TOWN, South Africa
Zimbabwe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (33) 71
Sri Lanka . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. (22) 36
FINALLY, the Gems moved out of their shell to put on a gallant show that helped them to their first win in the ongoing Netball World Cup when accounting for Sri Lanka at the Convention Centre here last night.
The 71-36 win, which they attained after four straight defeats, boosted their chances of finishing the global showcase in the top 13.
Already condemned to contest for places in the bottom four of the 16-team fiesta following some under-par displays in the preliminary round, the Gems are hoping to clip 13th position, which isn’t that bad anyway.
They needed to win last night’s match after losing their opener in this round to Barbados on Monday.
And they brought their A-Game, putting Sri Lanka to the guillotine in a dominant all-round performance.
The Gems, for the first time at this tournament, looked sharp right from the onset, scoring first for the first time at this global competition.
Zimbabwe will now need to beat Singapore in their last match in this group to ensure qualification for the 13th place play-off against Barbados.
The latter secured their place for the contest after coming good in an earlier game against Singapore yesterday, having already accounted for the Gems on Monday.
And a win will carry Zimbabwe to a 13th place final against the Caribbean Islanders hoping to avenge for the Monday loss.
In last night’s game, the Gems looked very much eager to play and they were better than their opponents in every aspect of the game.
For a team which coach Ropafadzo Mutsauki lambasted for lacking the will to fight following Monday’s defeat to Barbados to have responded in the way they did was as encouraging as it was motivating.
Mutsauki suggested that something sinister was happening behind his back, igniting a storm of conspiracy theories.
But at the close of business last night, the Gems brought smiles on millions of Zimbabweans following action on television and the ever passionate backers at the venue.
“It’s a game we had to win. We had no other option but to post a victory,” said player of the match Nicole Muzanenhamo.
“We have already disappointed the nation after failing to give ourselves a chance to fight for a place in the top 12.
“But we now have a chance to finish in position 13. Looking at the poor showing we have had at the World Cup, I think 13th place won’t be very bad.
“But it’s now a matter of retaining focus. We need to play against Singapore the same way we did against Sri Lanka.
“The match was very tough but we managed to seize control of every situation.
“It’s good to have finally won a match at the World Cup. We are very happy as a team and we know everyone back home is also happy”.
Zimbabwe controlled every inch of the match and were always on top of the situation.
With Goal Shooter Nalani Makunde and Muzanenhamo perfect in Goal Attack, the Gems were 18-10 at the close of the opening quarter before stretching the lead to 33-22 going to the break.
They then crushed all the resistance Sri Lanka offered in the third quarter reaching 52 points while the opponents could only add eight more to their tally.
Assistant coach Tatenda Shinya was delighted after the win.
“We may have failed to do as well as we intended but this win has brought us so much joy,” said Shinya.
“We hope to win against Singapore to give ourselves a chance of playing for the 13th place placement match”.
Online Reporter