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Mehluli Sibanda-Senior Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE survived a little fright by Jersey to win their second match at the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s Twenty20 World Cup Qualifier B by 23 runs at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo yesterday, a result which saw the home team book their place in the semi-finals of the tournament.
Man-of-the-match Sean Williams top scored for Zimbabwe with 57 off 39 deliveries, his second consecutive half century of the tournament and 29 not out from Luke Jongwe down the order took the Chevrons to 146/8 in 20 overs.
Some disciplined bowling by the Zimbabwean bowlers saw Jersey restricted to 123/5 in 20 overs, their highest individual contribution coming from Harrison Carlyon who made 45.
Zimbabwe and the United States of America, who clash at Queens Sports Club tomorrow, have qualified for the semi-finals to be played on Friday. The clash between Zimbabwe and USA will determine who goes to the semis as the Group A winners.
After losing the toss and were asked to bat first, Zimbabwe struggled to get runs on the board. They were reduced to 37-3 in 5.4 overs after the departure of skipper Craig Ervine, Regis Chakabva and Wessley Madherevere.
Williams, however, stood tall as he notched up his ninth half ton in this format of the game, the left hander getting to the milestone with a boundary off the bowling of Julius Sumerauer. After Williams fell, Jongwe ensured that Zimbabwe got a decent total with some good hitting.
If Zimbabwe were to win, they had to ensure that their bowling and fielding was on point and they did just that. What was crucial for Zimbabwe was ensuring that they stifled Jersey of run scoring opportunities and the required run rate kept going up.
Leg spinner Ryan Burl bowled brilliantly to finish with three wickets for 13 runs in four overs. There was a wicket each for Tendai Chatara and Blessing Muzarabani. Chatara walked off the field holding his shoulder after he fell awkwardly while fielding and Zimbabwe will be hoping that he is available for the match against the USA tomorrow.
In the other Group A match yesterday, the USA beat Singapore by 132 runs.
USA openers Steven Taylor and Monank Patel were dropped in the first and second overs of the innings respectively and they made the most of the opportunities by laying a solid foundation.
At the end of the Powerplay, USA were 72 for none. It was after the Powerplay stage that Singapore made inroads with wickets of Monank and Aaron Jones. Taylor, too, followed suit after contributing a crucial 31-ball 58.
However, the fall of wickets did not affect USA’s scoring rate with attacking batter Jaskaran Malhotra taking charge. In his 33-ball stay at the crease, he smashed 58 runs, including two fours and four sixes. USA finished on a strong 201/6 — their highest T20I team total.
In reply, Saurabh Netravalkar’s dream spell ripped Singapore’s line-up apart. First, he struck twice on the first two deliveries he bowled and finished the same over with another scalp — a triple-wicket maiden over. In his next over, he added another wicket to his tally.
While Cameron Stevenson chipped away with one wicket, leaving Singapore teetering at 22/5 by the end of the Powerplay.
The damage was already done as Singapore struggled to fight back, and continued to lose wickets.
They were eventually bowled out for 69 in 15.2 overs, with USA securing their second win of the tournament.
Netravalkar finished with 5/12 — the best figures in men’s T20Is for USA.
Scorecard
Zimbabwe v Jersey
Zimbabwe 146/8 (Williams 57, Jongwe 29*, Miles 2/25, Blampied 1/5) beat Jersey 123/5 20 overs (Carlyon 45, Burl 3/13, Chatara) by 23 runs
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