Zimbabwe-Ireland renew their interesting rivalry to kick-off their respective campaigns in Australia for the T20 World Cup 2022.
Zimbabwe’s return to the T20 World Cup after missing the tournament last year’s edition in UAE will be marked with a clash against the Irishmen in Hobart, as part of a Group B fixture for the competition’s preliminary round.
Having to undergo a qualifier at home to earn an opportunity to play in the marquee event in Australia, the Zimbabweans will be determined to make a statement after controversial off-field issues plagued them before the event in Middle East and robbed them of the chance to contest for the coveted trophy.
A win over Ireland will be critical to their chances in what happens to be a stiff Group B, also featuring West Indies and Scotland. Only two teams from respective preliminary groups make the cut for the Super 12s stage.
Equally important it will be for Ireland to start off with a victory, having crashed out of the preliminary round in UAE after disappointing losses to Sri Lanka and Namibia. Left behind by the rise of other emerging sides, the latest Test entrants would be desperate to remind everyone of their presence on the world stage.
Zimbabwe: Regis Chakabva (wk), Craig Ervine (c), Wesley Madhevere, Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Milton Shumba, Ryan Burl, Wellington Masakadza, Tendai Chatara, Blessing Muzarabani
Ireland: Andrew Balbirnie (c), Stephen Doheny, Paul Stirling, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Simi Singh, Barry McCarthy, Joshua Little
It is expected to be cloudy in Tasmania for the ZIM vs IRE game but no rains are forecast. The temperatures are predicted to fall below 10 C degrees for the fixture, with mid-October Australian weather taking its toll on both the sides.
Toss, as usual, will be key to both teams’ plans for the game. Zimbabweans would look to put Ireland’s weaker suit – bowling – under pressure by batting first. The Irish may prefer chasing, though, to give their stronger suit a specific target to aim for.
Sikandar Raza
The most straightforward fantasy pick from that Zimbabwean side these days is Raza, their veteran spin allrounder, who has been in terrific form with the bat and ball. In the global qualifier played at home, he blasted his 228 runs at a strike-rate of 176.74.
Blessing Muzarabani
Coming on the back of an injury, Muzarabani will be determined to make an early impact for Zimbabwe. The young speedster had picked up five wickets in his team’s qualifier campaign at home, carrying an excellent economy rate of 5.92.
Paul Stirling
Ireland’s powerpacked opening batter Stirling also makes the list. Stirling has been terrific at the top of the order in T20s this year, scoring his runs at a SR of 143.66.
Zimbabwe versus Ireland has always been an interesting rivalry in T20Is. Over the years, the Irish have had the better of the rubber, winning five of their previous eight encounters against the Zimbabweans since their first-ever outing back in 2014.
That also remains their only T20 World Cup men’s clash to date, with Ireland coming out triumphant in Sylhet to put a major claim at one of the Super 10 slots until they were upstaged by the spirited Netherlands side. That was an event offering Zimbabwe a stark reminder of their sustained decline and of how much the emerging world has caught up with them.
Not much has changed since then but in recent months, Zimbabwe have picked up some encouraging steam. They dominated the global qualifiers played in home conditions in July, before running India close in one of the ODIs in Harare and pulling off a shock 50-over win against mighty Australia in Townsville.
A number of their players, especially Raza, are in good form heading into this fixture, which would put the pressure on the Irish to get the ground running. The Ireland have their own issues at hands. They crashed out of the preliminary round in UAE and just about stuttered through their own part of the global qualifiers in Australia.
Plagued by longstanding issues with bat and ball in white-ball cricket, the Irish need to come up with an inspired performance against Zimbabwe, who will start off the match as slight favourites in Hobart for what could well prove to be the most critical of the Group B fixtures out of six.
A victory will be crucial for either side before they then go on to face Scotland and West Indies, the two favourites to qualify for the Super 12s from this preliminary group. A win will boost their confidence and give them some healthy momentum in what is a cut-throat competition for places.
Star Sports Network will telecast the fixture live on TV sets across India; ‘Disney+Hotstar’ will be offering the live streaming for the same. The match will be played from 1:30 PM IST.
