T20 World Cup’22, ZIM vs SC: ZIM wins by 5 WKTS!

T20 World Cup’22, ZIM vs SC: Zimbabwe 133 for 5 (Ervine 57, Raza 40, Davey 2-16) beat Scotland 132 for 6 (Munsey 54, Chatara 2-14, Ngarava 2-28) by five wickets

Before this T20 World Cup, Zimbabwe hadn’t played in a major ICC tournament in six years. However, as they advanced to the Super 12s, they made it clear that they were on the road to recovery. After managing his bowlers with pinpoint precision to keep Scotland to a manageable score, Craig Ervine led the Zimbabwean chase with his bat and in the field. Tendai Chatara and Sikandar Raza also made their experience count with telling contributions. In 55 attempts, Zimbabwe had won a T20I while chasing for only the 11th time.

Zimbabwe never let Scotland escape when asked to field first. With a wicket in his first over, Chatara set the tone and finished with 2 for 14 in four innings. He was well supported by Zimbabwe’s spin trio, who bowled only eight overs and only scored 46 runs.Scotland were held together by George Munsey’s half-century, but their highest partnership was just 40 runs for the third wicket. Scotland also did not have the kind of explosive innings that Raza played to break the chase’s back.

Before Ervine and Raza added 64 for the fourth wicket, Zimbabwe was nervous in response and were 7 for 2 and 42 for 3. By the time Ervine was bowled in the 17th over, Zimbabwe were very close to winning, and he had scored his first World Cup fifty and sixth T20I fifty.

Milton Shumba and Ryan Burl calmly rotated the strike and completed the task in just nine balls, closing the door if Scotland detected an opening when Ervine fell with 14 required off the final three overs. Burl scored the winning runs in the 19th over when he lofted Safyaan Sharif over mid-on for four runs. Zimbabwe finished first in their group with more than an over remaining. They will join their neighbours South Africa, India, and Pakistan in Group 2 of the Super 12s.

HIGHLIGHTS

Holding on with both hands

Even though Zimbabwe’s fielding hasn’t always performed well under pressure, they were committed to the cause in this match. Raza ran back from the ring and took the catch over his shoulder as he fell onto the turf when Michael Jones sliced the final ball of Chatara’s opening over cover. This gave Zimbabwe their first incision. After three overs, Matthew Cross hit a short ball from Richard Ngarava that went to Wessly Madhevere at midwicket. In the fifth over, Madhevere took the catch in full flight after launching himself to his left and leaving Scotland 24 for 2.

Milton Shumba was down on his haunches later in the innings to take a thigh-high catch off a slog-sweep to dismiss Richie Berrington. He also got low down on the boundary to take the catch that brought an end to Munsey’s laborious innings. In the final over, Luke Jongwe converted a chance to send Calum MacLeod back.

Munsey muscles it…

Munsey, who used a variety of strokes around the wicket to hit seven fours in the first 22 balls he faced, kept Scotland together. Off the Zimbabwean seamers, Munsey unleashed the flick, pull, cut, and three exquisite drives. He smoked Richard Ngarava past extra-cover after powering through overpitched deliveries from Blessing Muzarabani to mid-off.

… but Zimbabwe keep him quiet

Munsey scored 33 runs in his first 22 balls, but he only scored 21 runs in his next 29 as Zimbabwe’s bowlers pushed through the middle overs and made it hard for Scotland to get away. Raza used the variations he had developed in conjunction with Sean Williams’ left-arm spin and Madhevere’s off spin as Zimbabwe bowled nine overs with no boundaries. During that time, Chatara and Muzarabani were also used. They stuck to back-of-a-length balls that didn’t give them any chances to hit big shots. Only 48 runs were scored by Scotland in the eighteenth and sixteenth overs.

Scotland make the perfect start

Although Zimbabwe’s strategy was to blame for their early losses, Scotland could not have asked for a better start with only a small total to defend. Regis Chakabva was given out lbw after moving across and playing down the wrong line to Brad Wheal’s third delivery. He thought about it, but ball-tracking revealed that the impact was in line, and the ball would have hit the bails. Madhevere was given a juicy half-volley in the next over, but he swung hard without using his footwork and hit his own stumps.In the second over, Zimbabwe were 7 for 2.

ALSO READ: T20 World Cup’22, IRE vs WI: WI eliminated, IR wins by 9 WKTS

Sikandar’s sixes

Before Raza, the man who appears to be able to do almost anything at the moment, sent MacLeod over the midwicket boundary and barely broke a sweat, Scotland did not hit a single six in their innings. There were no sixes in the first 31.5 overs of the match. He did it again two overs later when he sent Michael Leask over the covers. Zimbabwe needed 63 runs from 49 deliveries before Raza’s first six; After his second hit, he scored 43 runs in 41 balls, which is how much of his innings let Zimbabwe’s effort lose pressure.

.@SRazaB24 was awarded Player of the Match for his 👇

1/20 with the ball ☝️
40 off 23 with the bat 🏏#SCOvZIM | #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/mJGiZFjzN1

— Zimbabwe Cricket (@ZimCricketv) October 21, 2022