On Thursday, Zimbabwe will face Ireland in the first T20I series match. The Harare Sports Club is where this match will take place. Zimbabwe beat Pakistan and performed admirably against other teams during their WT20 campaign. They will be without some of their key players, like Raza, but former England cricketer Gary Ballance is a big addition to the team. Ireland, on the other hand, has performed well in this format and has a well-balanced team for this series. It looks like this will be a close contest.
The core of the batting group is made up of Ryan Burl, Sean Williams, and Craig Ervine. Tendai Chatara, Luke Jongwe, and Richard Ngarava are all in good form, so the bowling looks solid. The core of the Irish team has remained unchanged, with captain Balbirnie leading the charge. The Irish should be confident of putting on a good show against Zimbabwe after their success at the T20 World Cup.
Match Details
- Match: Zimbabwe vs Ireland, 1st T20I
- Date & Time: January 12, 4:30 PM
- Venue: Harare Sports Club, Harare
Prediction
Due to international leagues, some of Zimbabwe’s key players will not be available to Ireland or Zimbabwe. However, Zimbabwe has a slight advantage because they are playing at home.
Prediction: Zimbabwe prevails.
Top dream 11 and Fantasy Picks
- Captain – Craig Ervine
- Vice-captain – Curtis Campher
- Wicketkeeper – Lorcan Tucker
- Batters –Tector, Balbirnie, Ballance
- All-rounders –Ryan Burl, Campher.
- Bowlers –Jongwe, Little, Evans
Pitch Report
The upcoming game is expected to be no different from the high-scoring ones that have occurred in the past on the Harare Sports Club pitch. The best course of action for teams should be to win the toss and field first.
At the Harare Sports Club, the surface will be balanced and favorable for pacers, making batting easier as the game progresses. At this location, both teams will prefer to chase. Harare will be the venue for the match. While the outfield pitch is favorable for batting, bowlers won’t find much assistance here. The par score is 170.
Weather Forecast
There won’t be any rain for the time being, and temperatures will hover around 25 degrees Celsius. The humidity will be around 50 percent.
PROBABLE PLAYING XI
Zimbabwe
- T Marumani
- CR Ervine(C)
- GS Ballance
- RP Burl
- SC Williams
- W Madhevere
- B Evans
- Clive Madande
- TL Chatara
- R Ngarava
- LM Jongwe
Ireland
- H Tector
- Gareth Delany
- PR Stirling
- A Balbirnie(C)
- Curtis Campher
- GH Dockrell
- GR Adair
- L Tucker
- MR Adair
- J Little
- AR McBrine
Where to watch
Live Streaming: FanCode