Pallekele (Sri Lanka), February 16 Following a stunning victory over former champions Australia, Zimbabwe will aim to maintain momentum against a challenging Ireland side and seize the opportunity to secure a maiden Super Eight berth in the T20 World Cup on Tuesday.
A win over Ireland will take Zimbabwe to six points, and they will continue their unbeaten streak, although a Super Eight spot from Group B will still not be guaranteed. Australia (currently on two points from two matches) and Sri Lanka (on four points from two matches) can also reach six points.
Zimbabwe's final group match is against hosts Sri Lanka on February 19 in Colombo.
In this scenario, the net run rate (NRR) would be the deciding factor.
If Zimbabwe reaches the Super Eight, it will be the first time they have progressed to that stage after seven attempts.
The African nation has been impressive in the tournament so far.
Their three fast bowlers, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani, and Brad Evans, have dominated the opposition's batting line-up, taking three wickets each in their opening match in Colombo, leaving the opposition with just 103 runs.
Their batters, led by Brian Bennett (48 not out), needed just 13.3 overs to chase the target and win by 8 wickets.
Zimbabwe then emerged as the tournament's giant-killers, scoring 169 for 2 against Australia before dismissing the opposition for just 146 and winning by 23 runs.
Opener Bennett led the batting for Zimbabwe once again with an unbeaten 64, while Muzarabani and Evans took four and three wickets respectively.
While Australia is a weakened side due to injuries, beating a top team like them will be a significant psychological boost for Zimbabwe before their match against Ireland on Tuesday.
The team management will be looking for Bennett to maintain his form. Other batters like opener Tadiwanashe Marumani, Ryan Burl, and captain Sikandar Raza also performed well against Australia and will aim to replicate their performance against Ireland.
Muzarabani and Evans, with seven and six wickets respectively from their two matches, are in top form, and they will be confident against Ireland.
On the other hand, Ireland are coming into the match after an easy win against Oman, and they will aim to end the tournament on a winning note after losing their first two matches – against hosts Sri Lanka and Australia.
Ireland have less to lose compared to Zimbabwe. A win for the European side could, however, complicate Zimbabwe's chances of securing a Super Eight berth.
Ireland also suffered a major setback on Friday when their captain Paul Stirling was ruled out of the rest of the T20 World Cup due to a ligament injury to his right knee.
Stand-in skipper Lorcan Tucker, however, led from the front with a blistering 94 off 51 balls to help Ireland score 235 for five against Oman, the highest total in this edition of the two World Cups, and win by 96 runs.
The Teams:
Zimbabwe: Ben Curran, Clive Madande, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Dion Myers, Sikandar Raza, Brian Bennett, Ryan Burl, Brad Evans, Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Graeme Cremer, Tinotenda Maposa, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava.
Ireland: Lorcan Tucker, Ross Adair, Ben Calitz, Harry Tector, Tim Tector, Sam Topping, Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Matthew Humphreys, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Ben White, Craig Young.
Match starts at 3 PM.
