New Delhi, February 28 Zimbabwe will need to address their bowling issues against a skilled South Africa as they aim to end their spirited T20 World Cup campaign on a high in their final Super 8 fixture here on Sunday.
Reaching the Super 8 as group toppers was part of Zimbabwe's success story, and inspired by their leader Sikandar Raza, they would be determined to push South Africa to the limit.
South Africa are the team to beat in the ICC tournament, and if Zimbabwe are to challenge them, they will have to come up with a better bowling performance after conceding more than 250 runs in the previous two Super 8 games against West Indies and India.
Raza knows they can only compete with the bigger teams if they perform well in all three departments.
"In the World Cup against the best teams, you need all your three departments to be working together. And unfortunately, if one department is weak, the game can easily slip away.
"So hopefully, in the last game, we can leave everything on the field and try to sort out all our three departments, which will hopefully give us the best chance to win," Raza had said after the India defeat.
His team has been guilty of bowling too many loose balls in the Super 8 stage. They need to bowl with the discipline they displayed against Australia and Sri Lanka in the group stage.
Their unbeaten run in the group stage came on slow pitches of Sri Lanka, but the margin of error drops drastically in batting-friendly Indian conditions, as they experienced in Mumbai and Chennai.
On the batting front, the opening duo of Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani need to maximize the powerplay.
Bennett, who is yet to be dismissed in the tournament, showed against India that he can also hit sixes. He would need to find a way to clear the stands against a wily South African attack.
Marco Jansen and Lungi Ngidi (11 wickets each) have been the standout bowlers for the Proteas, complemented by pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada, Corbin Bosch and frontline spinner Keshav Maharaj.
The top-three comprising skipper Aiden Markram, Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickelton are also in good form, and it would take a special bowling effort from Raza and his team to stop them.
The middle order, including David Miller, Tristan Stubbs and Dewald Brevis, has also made an impact in the Super 8.
South Africa, who have only played in Ahmedabad and Delhi so far in the tournament, are returning to the national capital for their final Super 8 fixture.
In the five games played here, 200 has only been breached once, with India posting 209 against Namibia.
This is effectively a dead rubber, as South Africa have already qualified for the semifinals, and Zimbabwe have been eliminated from the race following back-to-back losses.
Teams:
Zimbabwe: Sikandar Raza (captain), Brian Bennett, Ryan Burl, Graeme Cremer, Bradley Evans, Clive Madande, Tinotenda Maposa, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava, Ben Curran.
South Africa: Aiden Markram (captain), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Quinton de Kock, Marco Jansen, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs.
Match starts at 3 PM IST.
