adminHORBAT. – Zimbabwe rallied around Sikandar Raza’s magnificent innings against the Irish, which propelled them to a formidable score on Monday.
Skipper Craig Ervine and coach David Houghton will be looking for a little more bite from their top order, though, to avoid leaving it all down to talisman Raza.
The Chevrons take on the West Indies in their second match today.
It is the bowling where Zimbabwe’s strength truly lies, and all the bowlers come into this contest on the back of a good outing and will fancy their chances against the West Indies.
Even Luke Jongwe, who bowled two expensive overs against the Irish, will take confidence from an important contribution with the bat at the back end of the innings.
There is a new-found belief in the Zimbabwean ranks since Houghton’s arrival as a coach and one expects the Africans to play fearless cricket yet again.
Raza is, deservedly, the man-of-the-moment so far and Windies cannot let the all-rounder settle at the crease.
Windies are also expected to shore up their batting order and could ring in a couple of changes in their bowling department too.
Key Players
Tendai Chatara
It was senior pro Tendai Chatara’s first spell that put the Irish on the backfoot in the last game and Ervine is expected to turn to the pacer once again during the powerplay.
Chatara’s intelligent bowling set the platform on which Blessing Muzarabani to bag three wickets.
The 31-year-old’s experience will be crucial for Zimbabwe to ensure that Mayers and Lewis don’t pick up early boundaries in their innings.
Nicholas Pooran
On his day, the southpaw can single handedly change the fate of a contest with his stroke play. He can also go through lean patches and occasionally struggles to get out of a rut.
It will be interesting to see how he will go about juggling captaincy duties with his batting if West Indies progress further in the tournament.
For now, though, West Indies desperately need Pooran being at his fluent best at the crease. – ICC
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter