Namibia made a brilliant comeback in the second T20I to level the series 1-1 against the host’s Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe was outplayed by the visitors and will need to get their act right in this match to get back the lost lead. They have been the second-best team on African soil after the South Africans and will need to win this match to further strengthen their name in the cricketing world. Namibia has already made giant strides in the T20I format qualifying for the 2022 WC by advancing to super-12 in the 2021 WC. They will further look to make themselves a strong force in the T20Is with a win in this series against Zimbabwe.
TEAMS PREVIEW
ZIMBABWE PREVIEW
Zimbabwe elected to bat first after winning the toss but were left to regret the decision as they were reeling at 49/5 at the start of the 12th over. Donald Tiripano (18 runs), Milton Shumba (29 runs), Tony Munbhaga (23 runs), and Ryan Burl (16 runs) played little cameos to take their team to a respectable total of 122/8 in their 20 overs.
Their bowlers were never really in the game with this target. Luke Jongwe and Tendai Chatara chipped in with a wicket each and bowled economically under 6 RPO. Milton Shumba, Brandon Mavuta, and Ryan Burl went for runs at over 8 RPO as the opposition easily chased the target in 18 overs.
Top players to bet on: Milton Shumba, Luke Jongwe, Donald Tiripano
ZIMBABWE’S ACTUAL PLAYING XI:
Brad Evans, Brandon Mavuta, Craig Ervine, Tony Munyonga, Regis Chakabva, Innocent Kaia, Wesley Madhevere, Donald Tiripano, Tendai Chatara, Sikandar Raza, Luke Jongwe
NAMIBIA PREVIEW
Namibia chased the 122-run target very comfortably with 2 overs to spare. Skipper Craig Williams lead their innings with a knock of 63* off 53 balls while Gerhard Erasmus chipped in with a vital 36 runs to build a 75-run partnership for the second wicket. David Wiese gave the finishing touches with a couple of big hits in the middle order.
David Wiese and Jan Frylinck broke through the opposition batters with 5 wickets between themselves with Trumplehmenn chipped with brilliant figures of 4-1-14-1 in the match. Spinners Scholz, Eaton, and Erasmus had combined figures of 8-0-46-0 in the match effectively restricting run flow in the middle overs.
Top players to bet on: David Wiese, Trumpelmen, Craig Williams
ZIMBABWE VS NAMIBIA MATCH DETAILS:
Match: Zimbabwe vs Namibia, 5th T20I, Namibia tour of Zimbabwe, 2022
Date and Time: May 24th, 2022, Tuesday, 04:30 PM IST
Venue: Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo
WEATHER CONDITIONS
Queen`s Park Oval pitch is slightly on the slower side and batters need to apply themselves before going big. Bulawayo will have bright and sunny weather with no weather interruptions expected in the match.
VENUE DETAILS
Bulawayo is one of the premier stadiums in the Zimbabwe circuit and it has hosted the second-most matches in Zimbabwe. We expect the scores to be around 140-160 runs in this match.
TOSS: TO BAT
The pitch tends to slow down and aids the spinners as the match progresses, so we expect both captains to bat first if they win the toss in this match.
WINNING PREDICTION
Namibia had an all-around day with the bat and ball as they won the match comfortably to level the series. They will be high on confidence and momentum is on their side in this contest. Zimbabwe will be looking to improve their batting performance, especially after the top-order collapse in the last game. They have a good understanding of the home conditions and might hold an upper hand slightly but T20 cricket is all about form and confidence. We expect Namibia to win this match and carry their momentum ahead.
Namibia will win the match.