Zimbabwe started their 5-match home T20I series against Namibia with a win in the opening match. Both teams have a lot to play in this series with Zimbabwe aiming for some momentum ahead of the 2022 T20WC qualifiers while Namibia will need to come up in the points table to have a chance to qualify directly for the 2024 T20 WC. With very cricketing action between the associate nations, both teams will look to add a victory to their name and stabilise their position in the ICC T20I rankings. We expect yet another cracking contest between two of the equally poised teams in this match too.
TEAMS PREVIEW
ZIMBABWE PREVIEW
Zimbabwe innings was given a fiery start with Wesley Madhevere making a superb 12-ball 23 runs at the top. Skipper Craig Ervine (55 runs) and Sikander Raza (37 runs) then shared a brilliant 71-run partnership to lead their team`s batting. They failed to get a good finish, Ryan Burl and Milton Shumba did not find the middle of the bat very often.
Their bowlers did not get a good start as the opposition openers made a good opening partnership. Brandon Mavuta broke open the doors with the opening wicket while Milton Shumba then took centerstage claiming 3 wickets in quick time to derail the chase. Tendai Chatara and Luke Jongwe bowled economical spells to further pressurise the batting unit effectively.
Top Players to bet on: Milton Shumba, Craig Ervine, Sikander Raza
NAMIBIA PREVIEW
Namibia had an excellent start with their openers Craig Williams (25 runs) and Divan La Cook (66 runs) giving a 67-run opening partnership. Their middle order kept losing wickets at regular intervals as their team fell short of the target by 7 runs. Zane Green (19 runs) and David Wiese (14 runs) played small cameos but were very late to win the match.
Scholtz dismissed both the opposition openers and finished with a brilliant figure of 4-0-19-2 in the match. Gerhard Erasmus, Pikky France, and Trumplemann were doing their job to perfection and had combined figures of 7-0-42-2 in the match. Their other bowlers gave runs at nearly 9+ RPO and needed to tighten the screws in this match.
Top Players to bet on: Scholtz, Gerhard Erasmus, Divan La Cook
ZIMBABWE VS NAMIBIA MATCH DETAILS
Match: Zimbabwe vs Namibia, 2nd T20I, Namibia tour of Zimbabwe, 2022.
Date and Time: May 19, 2022, Thursday, 04:30 PM IST.
Venue: Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo.
ZIMBABWE VS NAMIBIA PITCH REPORT
The pitch at Queens Sports Club is good for batting. The batters will enjoy batting on this surface as the ball comes nicely onto the bat. The bowlers will have to be disciplined with their lines and lengths while bowling on this surface.
ZIMBABWE VS NAMIBIA WEATHER FORECAST
The temperature in Bulawayo is expected to range between 11 and 23 degrees Celsius. There is no chance of rain and we expect a full game to be played on Thursday.
ZIMBABWE VS NAMIBIA PROBABLE XIS
ZIMBABWE
Contributions from Craig Ervine (55*) and Sikandar Raza (37) helped them post 153 on the board in the first T20I. Milton Shumba bowled brilliantly and picked up three wickets as it helped them defend the total successfully.
PROBABLE XI
Wesley Madhevere, Regis Chakabva (wk), Craig Ervine (c), Milton Shumba, Sikandar Raza, Ryan Burl, Donald Tiripano, Brandan Mavuta, Tendai Chatara, Luke Jongwe, Tanaka Chivanga.
NAMIBIA
Bernard Scholtz picked up two wickets as they restricted Zimbabwe to 153 in the first T20I. Divan la Cock scored 66 at the top of the order but his wicket led to a collapse and the lack of contributions from the other batters resulted in them falling short by seven runs.
PROBABLE XI
Craig Williams, Divan la Cock, Gerhard Erasmus (c), Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Zane Green (wk), David Wiese, Ruben Trumpelmann, Jan Frylinck, Pikky Ya France, Bernard Scholtz, Tangeni Lungameni
ZIMBABWE VS NAMIBIA MATCH PREDICTION
The hosts were brilliant in the first game of the T20I series and managed to take an early lead in the series. They will look to repeat their performance on Thursday while the Namibian side will be eager to bounce back in the series.
Zimbabwe has the winning momentum behind them and we expect them to carry it forward by winning the second T20I.
Prediction: Zimbabwe to win this encounter.
