adminNgqabutho Moyo Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE will be out to salvage lost pride at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo today after losing the opening two One Day International (ODI) matches against South Africa.
The hosts desperately need a win to avoid a ODI series whitewash by their neighbours.
Zimbabwe managed to bowl their big brothers out for the first time since the 1999 World Cup, which is their third time in their 34th One Day International history but that was not sufficient to avoid a series defeat.
History has proven odds are very much against them claiming their ego in the ODI series as the host team.
Zimbabwe national team ODI captain Elton Chigumbura said they have learnt from their mistakes and will be at their best to win in today’s encounter.
“We have learnt from our mistakes particularly on the batting side, we will be at our best to correct that and hopefully it will get us a win,” said Chigumbura.
After winning the toss for the second time Zimbabwe opted to field first disregarding the fact that chasing has been a tall order for the South Africans as of late, the Proteas have won just one of the last nine ODIs in which they batted second, so forcing them into such a situation could have been a good option for the home team.
While on the Proteas side, today’s match is a perfect opportunity for them to test their team’s top stars, a few new faces waiting for their chance to put their hands up, like the untested bowling duo of Marchant de Lange and Mthokozisi Shezi as well as rookie batsman Rilee Rossouw could take the opportunity to introduce themselves to the big stage.
The South Africans have announced that ace Hashim Amla will be rested for today’s game.
Probable line up for Zimbabwe: Sikandar Raza, Vusi Sibanda, Hamilton Masakadza, Brendan Taylor, Sean Williams, Elton Chigumbura, Luke Jongwe, Neville Madziva, Prosper Utseya, Brian Vitori, John Nyumbu
Probable line up for South Africa: Quinton de Kock, Mthokozisi Shezi, Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, David Miller, Ryan McLaren, Wayne Parnell, Kyle Abbott, Aaron Phangiso, Imran Tahir.
Online Reporter