Zimbabwe have finally made it through to the Super 12s after a long wait and they will be motivated to perform even better now that they are here, competing against far superior teams in terms of quality and experience. But Craig Ervine and his men have already made a statement with the way they have performed relentlessly of late. They entered the tournament with eight wins in their last 10 T20I matches and they also caused an upset in an ODI against Australia last month, which shows that they have the quality to take down big teams. And that’s exactly what they will be looking to do when they take on South Africa in their first Super 12 encounter in Hobart on Monday. (Follow LIVE SA vs ZIM action HERE)
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Ervine’s men delivered some excellent performances in the qualifying stage. They won two of their three matches to enter the Super 12s and their bowlers played a big role to make this possible. The bowlers were disciplined throughout the three matches, restricting their oppositions to totals around 150 in every game. Only their batting looked a bit concerning as they had to depend on their star all-rounder Sikandar Raza to play match-winning knocks in both of their victories. Their skipper Ervine stepped up against Scotland, though, as he played a steady knock of 58 to guide them home. And the other batters need to follow their captain’s lead now to step up and deliver in this important phase of the tournament.
South Africa, on the other hand, are entering this mega event in an even better shape as a team than they were last time. They have played only 13 T20Is since the last T20 World Cup but barring Ireland, all of their matches have been against strong teams like India and England. And the Proteas have proven their mettle winning three matches against India and winning two against England.
The bowling unit looks well-balanced with Kagiso Rabada leading the pace attack and Tabraiz Shamsi forming the spin-bowling pair along with Keshav Maharaj. The batting line-up has also settled down well and the presence of David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen, both of whom have been in rich vein of form, in the middle-order gives them an extra layer of security and assurance. The Proteas also outclassed New Zealand in their recent warm-up fixture and the bowling attack played a big role in that win as they bowled the kiwis out for a paltry total of 98. The only concern for them, however, is the form of their skipper Temba Bavuma. He is averaging a meagre 10.66 in T20Is this year along with an even worse strike-rate of 82.05. His failures haven’t allowed South Africa to get off to good starts and he will need to start delivering soon if he wants his team to stand a chance of making it to the final four.
SA vs ZIM Dream11 Team Prediction
Keeper – Quinton de Kock (VC)
Batsmen – Craig Ervine, Reeza Hendricks, David Miller
All-rounders – Sikandar Raza (C), Sean Williams, Aiden Markram, Wayne Parnell
Bowlers – Kagiso Rabada, Blessing Muzurabani, Anrich Nortje
SA vs ZIM Predicted Playing XI
South Africa: Quinton de Kock, Temba Bavuma, Rilee Rossouw, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj, Tarbaiz Shamsi, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi
Zimbabwe: Regis Chakabva, Craig Ervine, Wesley Madhevere, Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Milton Shumba, Ryan Burl, Luke Jongwe, Richard Ngarava, Tendai Chatara, Blessing Muzarabani
SA vs ZIM full Squads
South Africa Squad: Quinton de Kock(w), Temba Bavuma(c), Rilee Rossouw, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Tristan Stubbs
Zimbabwe Squad: Regis Chakabva(w), Craig Ervine(c), Wesley Madhevere, Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Milton Shumba, Ryan Burl, Luke Jongwe, Richard Ngarava, Tendai Chatara, Blessing Muzarabani, Tony Munyonga, Brad Evans, Clive Madande, Wellington Masakadza
