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Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE have qualified for the Super 12 for the first time at the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup after beating Scotland by five wickets in thrilling Group B match at the Bellerive Oval today.
The Chevrons recovered from an early scare during the chase and reached the modest target of 133 runs, with nine balls remaining. This is the first time in six ICC T20 World Cup appearances that they have gone past the group stages.
Scotland won the toss batted first in a match played under a cloud, with chances of rains disrupting the match having been forecasted.
But the Scots struggled to 132/6 in their 20 overs. George Munsey (51 from 54 balls) provided a commendable resistance for but Zimbabwe still managed to squeeze the life out of their opponents.
Seamer Tendai Chatara led the Zimbabwean bowling attack with a superb 2-14. Richard Ngarava also had two wickets while Blessing Muzarabani and Sikandar Raza had one each.
Zimbabwe started the chase in the worst possible manner losing two wickets inside the first two overs, with only seven runs on the board.
Vice-captain Regis Chakabva (5) and Wessly Madhevere (0) were soon followed by Sean Williams (7). Zimbabwe needed a robust partnership in the middle overs and skipper Craig Ervine and Raza provided that. The two put together 64 runs for the fourth wicket.
Skipper Ervine, who missed the previous game against West Indies due to a mild asthma attack, returned to lead the team from the front with a high score of 57 runs.
But it was Raza who swung the pendulum in favour of Zimbabwe with a fiery 40 from 23 balls. Raza, who also took 1-20 with the ball, was voted Man of the Match for his efforts.
The partnership brought down the required run rate significantly from seven-plus to just over five runs an over by the time Raza left the crease. In fact, Zimbabwe needed 27 runs from 30 balls and despite losing Ervine, Ryan Burl (9) and Milton Shumba still saw the Chevrons over the line, with nine balls remaining.
Zimbabwe joined Ireland to the Super 12 from Group B. The Chevrons will be in Group 2 where they face Bangladesh, India, Netherlands, Pakistan and South Africa in the Super 12 games.
Ireland, who brewed a shocker by eliminating two-time champions West Indies, courtesy of a deserved nine-wicket victory earlier in the day, proceed to Group One and will meet defending champions Australia, Afghanistan, England, Ireland, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.
Scorecard summary:
Zimbabwe beat Scotland by five wickets
Scotland 132 for 6 (Munsey 54, MacLeod 25; Chatara 2-14, Ngarava 2-28)
Zimbabwe 133 for 5 (Ervine 57, Raza 40, Davey 2-16, Watt 1-16)
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