T20 World Cup 2022: Zimbabwe Face Uphill Battle
Shockingly enough, as per my prediction just over a week ago, Zimbabwe found themselves at the top of the Group B table in the first round of the ongoing T20 World Cup in Australia. They are into the main round or the Super 12 phase of the world showpiece event.
Let us analyze the uphill battle they are about to face in this, the main phase of the competition.
1. Top of the Table
Zimbabwe were nothing short of clinical in the first phase of the competition, finishing top of the Group B section where they secured victory against the evergreen Irish team and unlucky Scottish outfit, while losing to West Indies.
The men from Africa outplayed the Irish in a game where they were superior with both bat and ball. The game was completely one-sided and the only reason it didn't look so disparaging on the scoreline was only due to the fact that the Irish tail wagged a tad in a game that was already well over by the sixth over.
Zimbabwe then fell just short against the West Indies after a spectacular batting collapse in the second innings after starting extremely briskly, primarily due to a brilliant spell from Alzarri Joseph, the West Indian speedster.
It was a do-or-die game in the final encounter vs the Scots, and the Zimbabweans started with a bang with the ball, allowing the Scots only 132, which they knocked off with relative ease thanks to skipper Craig Ervine and the mercurial Sikander Raza.
2. A lucky washout
Zimbabwe were involved in their first game of the Super 12 phase in what could be deemed as "The Battle of Africa", on Monday in a very chilly night at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart. The prediction earlier was that rain was going to spoil proceedings in its entirety, but there was, to some surprise, a fraction of a game that took place, and the game was deemed to be nine overs apiece.
South Africa and Zimbabwe had to settle for a point each as rain forced the match to be abandoned.
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This impacted the Zimbabwean top order as they struggled to approach their innings with much finesse, and saw a brief collapse. Thankfully for them, Wesley Madhevere applied some much-needed composure to the innings for a brief 35 runs from just 18 balls. The total was a reasonable 79 from the allotted nine overs, and the Zimbabweans seemed fairly content.
Unfortunately, any sense of contentment was suddenly rushed from their faces by a brilliant innings from Quinton de Kock, who wasted no time in getting started with the chase as he smashed 47 off just 18 deliveries which included eight fours and a six.
The South Africans looked poised to stroll to victory, but that was spoiled when the rain began to come down harder and the umpires, who were already arguably too leniant with conditions, decided that the game couldn’t continue.
Sean Williams might have been the one to save the Zimbabweans from a sure defeat, as he became quite vocal towards the umpires at the start of the fourth over, after seeing teammate Richard Ngarava injure his ankle in the over prior due to slippery grip under foot.
Sanity prevailed and the game was washed out, with a point apiece. Head Coach Dave Houghton said, "I understand the need to try and play in slightly inclement weather to try and get a result. But we overstepped that mark in this game."
3. Out of the Cold and into the Fire
Zimbabwe, after spending the last two weeks in sub 13 degree weather in Hobart, Tasmania, now travel to the more familiar sunny skies and warmth of Perth for their next encounter on Thursday (October 28).
The weather won't be the only hot thing coming Zimbabwe's way when they go up against a very fired-up Pakistani side. The Men in Green will have a massive bee on their bonnet after losing to arch-rivals India in their first encounter in front of over 90,000 people at the MCG on Sunday evening.
Zimbabwe will face a barrage of quick bowling in the form of Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi, who are difficult enough to play at the best of times, never mind on the most notoriously lively pitches in the cricketing world, found in Western Australia.
Nevertheless, the Zimbabweans will have their own firepower in the form of the 6'9 Blessing Muzarabani, as well as the 6'5 Richard Ngarava, who they will be hoping to have recovered from his ankle injury against South Africa. Muzarabani plays in the PSL and has historically given Babar Azam a run for money, which makes the battle between both players interesting.
As Ireland have just put one over on their arch rivals, England, one would assume more upsets are to follow, no doubt. The likelihood of Zimbabwe beating Pakistan this coming Thursday remains slim though, especially given the fact that the game is going to be played at the Optus Arena, where pace and bounce are going to be a huge factor.
Should Zimbabwe quell the barrage from Shaheen, Haris Rauf, and Naseem, as they have done before, it could be their day. The likes of Regis Chakabva and Sean Williams are going to have to step up from their poor run of form of late and get the Chevrons off to a good start up top. A possible cracker awaits in Perth, come Thursday night.