B-Metro
Fungai Muderere
AFTER registering a landmark T20 series win over Bangladesh on Tuesday, Zimbabwe’s senior men cricket team, the Chevrons, meets the same opponent in One Day International (ODIs) matches scheduled for Friday, Sunday and 10 August at Harare Sports Club.
Ryan Burl
On Tuesday, man of the match Ryan Burl rescued Zimbabwe from 67-6 and gave it a good enough total to beat Bangladesh by 10 runs and clinch its first T20 series over a full International Cricket Council (ICC) member.
Burl’s 54 from 28 balls batting at number seven propelled the home team to 156-8 at Harare Sports Club.
Bangladesh only managed 146-8 in its 20 overs and Zimbabwe claimed the series-deciding third game for a small slice of history.
Zimbabwe has been playing T20 cricket since 2006 and had not beaten a fellow top-tier team in a multi-game series before.
The win capped a good few weeks for one of cricket’s strugglers after Zimbabwe won a qualifying tournament on home soil last month to seal a place at the T20 World Cup in Australia in October and November.
The visitors are coming from the Caribbean hot off a strong ODI series win, though were troubled in the shortest format, falling to a 2-0 series defeat.
Sikandar Raza
Preparing for the T20 World Cup and striving for 2023 Cricket World Cup qualification, Sikandar Raza-inspired Zimbabwe will certainly be battle-hardened, also taking on India and Australia in the next two months after Bangladesh’s visit.
At the conclusion of Bangladesh’s tour, Zimbabwe will then welcome another Asian country India for three ODIs to be played on 18, 20 and 22 August in Harare.
India have not toured Zimbabwe since 2016 and the series is part of the ICC ODI Super League that serves to identify the seven direct qualifiers, along with the hosts, for next year’s 50-over World Cup in India.
A young India squad, led by Shikhar Dhawan, is in the Caribbean for a three-match ODI series that will be followed by five T20Is that finish on Sunday in Florida.
Zimbabwe are placed 12th in the 13-team pool, with just three wins in 15 matches.
The ODI series is scheduled to finish less than a week before the 2022 Asia Cup, which is set to be played between August 27 and September 11, in the United Arab Emirates.
With their place at this year’s T20 World Cup contest to be held in Australia sealed, Zimbabwe will also have an opportunity to acclimatise to Australian conditions when they tour the country for three ODIs in Townsville on 28 August to 3 September.
Aside from the 2015 World Cup, Zimbabwe have not toured Australia since 2003-2004, while the two teams last met in ODIs during a tri-series in 2014.
