Netherlands vs Zimbabwe 2nd T20: Preview and Predicted Playing XI
To everyone's surprise, the Netherlands stunned Zimbabwe in the ODI series to register their maiden series win over a full member nation. Then continued their dominance in the shortest format to register a commanding 49-run win in the first T20I.
Now the two sides will face each other for the final game of the tour on June 24 at the Hazelaarweg in Rotterdam.
Match details
Date: 24th June 2019 (Tuesday)
Time: 5:30 PM (Netherlands/Zimbabwe) & 09:00 PM (IST)
Venue: The Hazelaarweg, Rotterdam
Live stream
Netherlands: kncb.nl & CricketNederland
India: CricketNederland (Youtube)
Weather Report
The Rotterdam weather is unlikely to interfere during the match. The players are likely to witness a warm day with the temperature around 29 degrees celsius.
Pitch Report
The pitch will mostly favour the batsmen, with a little assistance for the spinners too. The slower bowlers might have a significant say as the ball gets older.
Head-to-Head Stats: In two T20I fixtures, both the teams have shared one game apiece.
The Netherlands perspective
Key Batsmen: Roelof van der Merwe, Ben Cooper and Max O'Dowd
The experienced Roelof van der Merwe blitzed a 39-ball 75 to set the tone for the Netherlands' exceptional win against Zimbabwe in the first T20I.
Max O'Dowd and Ben Cooper both made significant contributions too with their respective knocks of 30 and 54 on Sunday, and the management will need them to replicate their show in the next game.
Key Bowlers: Pieter Seelaar, Fred Klaassen and Brandon Glover
Pieter Seelaar (3/28), Fred Klaassen (3/36) and Brandon Glover (3/20) all played key roles in strangling the Zimbabwean batsmen during the chase. That said, Klaassen was quite expensive last time out and he will look to rectify that on Tuesday.
Expected playing XI
Pieter Seelaar (C), Scott Edwards (W), Tobias Visee, Max O’Dowd, Ben Cooper, Bas de Leede, Wesley Barresi, Roelof van der Merwe, Fred Klaassen, Brandon Glover and Paul van Meekeren.
The Zimbabwe perspective
The visitors will aim to avoid the ignominy of going winless against their inexperienced opponents.
Key batsmen: Craig Ervine, Sean Williams and Brendan Taylor
The failure of their openers Hamilton Masakadza and Solomon Mire is hurting Zimbabwe badly. The team will need them to produce a commanding start in their last encounter of the tour.
Craig Ervine (59 runs from 37 balls) was the only batter to show some intent against the Dutch bowlers in the first T20I. He together with Sean Williams and Brendan Taylor will be key in the middle order.
Key bowlers: Sean Williams, Chris Mpofu and Donald Tiripano
Sean Williams, Chris Mpofu and Donald Tiripano are the key figures of this bowling side and they are likely to pose a major threat to the hosts in the next game.
Expected playing XI
Hamilton Masakadza (C), Brendan Taylor (W), Solomon Mire, Craig Ervine, Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Peter Moor, Ryan Burl, Donald Tiripano, Kyle Jarvis and Chris Mpofu.