Zimbabwe starts their campaign with a win but will feel some concerns with their bowling. The bowling was a touch on the expensive side and that will be a spot they would like to improve on in the upcoming game as they take on the Netherlands who come in with some bad form and a decent gap away from the game leading up to the tournament.

ZIM vs NED Match Details

Date: June 20th, 2023

Time:  12:30 PM IST

Venue: Harare

ZIM vs NED Weather Report

The weather looks pretty clear for the upcoming fixture.

ZIM vs NED Pitch Report

The track is likely to take some healthy turn as batting first remains a better option on pitch which will turn as the game progresses.

ZIM vs NED Head-to-Head

Played- 6 | Zimbabwe- 3 | Netherlands- 3 | No Result- 0 | Tie- 0

ZIM vs NED Predicted Playing XI

Zimbabwe Playing XI

Innocent Kaia, Craig Ervine, Wessly Madhevere, Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Ryan Burl, Clive Madande, Richard Ngavara, Blessing Muzarabani, Tendai Chatara

Netherlands Playing XI

Vikramjit Singh, Max O Dowd, Musa Ahmad, Wesley Barresi, Tom Cooper, Scott Edwards, Shariz Ahmed, Aryan Dutt, Paul Van Meekeren, Fred Klaassen, Vivian Kingma

ZIM vs NED Key Players

Sikandar Raza

Sikandar Raza was impressive in his first IPL and has been impressive throughout the last year as well. He is in some really good form and will be a key player in the upcoming game as Zimbabwe takes on the odds with the likes of West Indies and Sri Lanka in the tournament as well.

Max O Dowd

Max O Dowd has been a pretty consistent player up top for the Netherlands and they will be hoping he gets his side off to a good start with the tournament having some stakes behind it as Netherlands look to make a World Cup appearance after what seems like ages.

ZIM vs NED Match Tips

Zimbabwe comes in favorites with their experience and the presence of some really talented cricketers.

Match Prediction: Zimbabwe Will Win the Match

ZIM vs NED, 1st ODI: Netherlands 255 for 7 (Nidamanuru 110*, Ackermann 50, Masakadza 3-36, Ngarava 2-44) beat Zimbabwe 249 (Madande 74, Klaassen 3-41, van Meekeren 2-50) by 3 wickets

The unbeaten 96-ball 110 shot from No. 7 finished the work for Netherlands as they pulled off a dig out from a deficit three-wicket prevailed upon Zimbabwe

Netherlands were 110 for 6 in the 32nd over, chasing 250 for victory in the first of three One-Day Internationals, when Nidamanuru first formed partnerships with Shariz Ahmad and Paul van Meekeren and then ended the game with some fireworks.

After Richard Ngarava and Wellington Masakadza dismantled the Netherlands’ top order, Nidamanuru entered. However, Colin Ackermann was still present, and he and Nidamanuru put on a 46-run stand, but Masakadza bowled Ackermann out for 50 in his final over.

Before a quiet period left Netherlands needing 108 off 72 balls, Nidamanuru and Shariz picked up a boundary each in the first ten balls of their partnership. Nidamaduru crossed the odd boundary, but it wasn’t until the 43rd over that things started to get a little bit desperate.

Between the 43rd and 48th overs, Zimbabwe used five bowlers, but the rotation did not stop the runs from coming in. Shariz, on the other hand, was run out for 30 to end a 94-ball, 110-run stand.

With a four off Ngarava and a four off van Meekeren in the same over, Nidamadaru scored his century, making Netherlands need 19 from 12. After Blessing Muzarabani bowled Nidamadaru a six and van Meekeren a four in the 49th over, that reduced to just four runs from the final over. It came down to the penultimate pitch before van Meekeren struck Brad Evans for a six-run homer to win the game.

Zimbabwe were pressured earlier in the day after being asked to bat. In the first powerplay, van Meekeren and Fred Klaassen cheaply eliminated the top three. Both Wessly Madhevere and Sikandar Raza got off to good starts, but in the eleventh over, Madhevere was run out.

Before Masakadza joined Clive Madande to repair the innings, Brandon Glover, Vikramjit Singh, and Shariz chipped away to leave Zimbabwe languishing at 98 for 7 in the 21st over.

Despite only scoring five boundaries in their 99-ball partnership, the two turned the strike over to take the pressure off. When Masakadza got the second run-out of the game, they scored 70 runs.

After that, between Madande and Ngarava, who hit two sixes, 32 of the 66 runs were inside the boundary. In the 41st over, Madande reached fifty and continued to bat until he was the last man out for a 74 off 98 balls. Although it was a valiant effort, it was not enough to prevent the Netherlands from winning their third ODI Super League match.

T20 World Cup’22, ZIM vs NED: Netherlands 120 for 5 (O’Dowd 52, Cooper 32, Ngarava 2-18, Muzarabani 2-23) beat Zimbabwe 117 (Raza 40, van Meekeren 3-29, de Leede 2-14) by five wickets

Firsts are often memorable, and the Netherlands made sure that their first Twenty20 International at the Adelaide Oval would be one to remember fondly. With a steady 52-run performance, their batting mainstay Max O’Dowd helped them through a small run chase against Zimbabwe and almost ended their chances of reaching the semifinals. O’Dowd exuded calmness. This occurred following a superb seam bowling performance by the Netherlands, led by Paul van Meekeren’s three-for, which resulted in Zimbabwe being bowled out for 117.

For Zimbabwe, only Sikandar Raza stood tall once more as their batters couldn’t keep up with the accurate fast bowling and gave in to the clever changes of pace they bowled. O’Dowd and Tom Cooper responded by putting together a 73-run partnership that prevented the Netherlands from losing early wickets in groups.

Zimbabwe will be eliminated regardless of the outcome of the India-Bangladesh matchup, even though they mathematically still hold on.

HIGHLIGHTS

Seam, swing and all that

At the Adelaide Oval, the two colors that typically make for good viewing were on display: blue, sunny skies following a rainy buildup and an even layer of green grass on the surface. However, despite the fact that his teammates appeared content with what they had to do, Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine did not hesitate to bat first. It was clear why.

A left-arm bowler swung it into the right-hander (away from the left-hander).Then a seamstress with the right arm did the opposite. Van Meekeren scored the first blow in the subsequent over after Fred Klaassen came dangerously close to cutting Ervine off in the first over. Before casting Madhevere with a peach, he started with a misdirected inswinger to Ervine, who played with his left hand. Madhevere was rooted to the crease expecting an outswinger, but he got a full, straight ball on the middle that he missed flicking off for a bowl.

The time had come for Brandon Glover to arrive at the party. He started with five dots in a row, which caused Ervine to top-edge an attempted flick and Scott Edwards to make a good catch.In his next finished, Glover saw Regis Chakabva endure two possibilities – one when Bas de Leede neglected to grip on to a cut at in reverse point and afterward on the exceptionally next ball when Edwards grassed a guideline jumping get.

However, Chakabva, like Madhevere, lost the mental game against Glover because he was stuck in his crease expecting another outside off, only to be caught in front by a full, straight one in line with the stumps. As a direct consequence of this, Zimbabwe’s powerplay total was reduced to 20 for 3.

Raza, again

For the tenth time in recent games, it was up to Raza to save Zimbabwe.Before beginning a 14-run over off Glover, he was struck out for two overs upon his entry. To pepper his pull strokes, he targeted the short, square area on the leg side and used his might to smoke generally unhittable length balls over the bowler’s head. In Sean Williams, he found a partner, and together they won by 48 runs.

Raza didn’t slow down after Williams fell. He smoked two more sixes, one of which, again from Glover, made a sound you’d want to use for an alert on your phone. After the bowler had conceded just two runs in his first two overs and had taken two wickets, including a wicket-maiden, Raza scored 26 in all off the 11 balls he faced from Glover.

Zimbabwe lost their last five wickets for 25 and folded for 117 after Raza fell while attempting to take the longer long-on boundary off Bas de Leede, who had replaced him in the match against Pakistan due to a concussion.

ALSO READ: India legend slams Dravid, Rohit over Pant stance

O’Dowd denies Zimbabwe

With his second half-century in the men’s T20 World Cup, O’Dowd improved his batting credentials. However, not everything went according to plan for him. He hit a four in each of Tendai Chatara’s three powerplay overs, but he only scored 14 runs out of the 18 balls he faced in the phase. Chatara’s outswingers frequently beat him on the outside edge, making it seem as though the phase was being played over and over again.

He truly made his presence known when he took a slower delivery from Richard Ngarava early in the powerplay and followed it up with a stunning inside-out six over extra cover from Sean Williams. Cooper’s alliance with O’Dowd had almost sealed the deal for Netherlands by that time, and he had gotten into a roll, probably knowing the conditions at Adelaide Oval like the back of his hand from stints on the Australian domestic circuit.

Cooper’s fall allowed Zimbabwe to pick up four wickets for 26 runs, but only 117 was never going to be enough.