Zimbabwe had their moments in the opening game against South Africa in Harare. Zimbabwe put the Proteas under pressure at times, but lacked experience in finishing things off. As a result, the hosts suffered a 5-wicket loss with about 4 overs to spare in the first game. There could be many reasons attributed to this loss. We will list three reasons why Zimbabwe fell short against the South Africans.
Sluggish Batting in the Powerplay pegs Zimbabwe back
Put into bat first, Zimbabwe got off to a sluggish start in the powerplay. They could only muster 34 runs and lost a wicket in that phase. Brian Bennett was there and scored 30 off 28 balls, but he was slow to get going. Wessly Madhevere wasted 9 balls for 1 run while Clive Madande scored 8 off 16 balls. These wasted balls came back to hurt Zimbabwe.
Even post the powerplay, they never got going and were largely sluggish through the first half of the innings. It was only due to Sikandar Raza that they got past 140 in the end. Winning the powerplay is important in T20Is and Zimbabwe were too slow to start off the blocks as they scored 34 runs in powerplay overs for the loss of 1 wicket.
Going forward, they need to find a way to start quick off the blocks especially when batting first. In chasing, the target can help in knowing how to go about it.
Overdependency on Sikandar Raza gets exposed
Captain Sikandar Raza led from the front like he so often does with the bat. He remained unbeaten on 54 off 38 balls laced with 3 fours and 2 sixes to his name. But he hardly had support from the other end. Brian Bennett at the top scored 30 off 28 balls while Ryan Burl scored 29 off 20 balls, and gave him good support for a while.
Other than Burl, the rest of them could not do anything, and it was left for Raza to do the heavy lifting for his side. He had to score the majority of the runs at the backend of the innings, and that was the reason they got past 140. With more support from the others, Zimbabwe may have reached 160+ and put more pressure on South Africa, as batting at over 7 an over is not overly challenging for a chasing side.
Cricket is a team game, and all of them need to perform as a unit for them to do well against top nations like South Africa and even New Zealand later on.
Inability to stop Dewald Brevis hampers ZimbabweÂ
Zimbabwe began well with the ball as they dismissed the top 3 batters relatively early in the piece. At 38/3 inside the powerplay, Zimbabwe were very much in the game. But then they ran into Dewald Brevis, who has been in tremendous form in the shortest format of the game. He counterattacked in the middle overs and, within a jiffy, took the game away from the hosts.
Dewald Brevis put on 72 runs off just 37 balls with Rubin Hermann and took the game away from Zimbabwe. Brevis scored a breathtaking 41 off 17 balls, which included 5 sixes and only one boundary to his name. Brevis allowed Herman to settle down as he scored 45 off 37 balls and held the innings together. Later Corbin Bosch finished it of with 23* off 15 balls, but the main damage was done by Brevis, and his innings made sure the required rate was very much under control.
Going forward, Zimbabwe needs to press on a bit from a 38/3 situation and drive home the advantage. Maybe lack of experience came back to haunt them a little bit, but with experience, they will learn and intend to get better. The more they play, the better it is for them.
What Lies Ahead
Both teams will next face New Zealand in their respective games. South Africa plays New Zealand on the 16th of July, while Zimbabwe hosts the Kiwis on the 18th of July. Some mouth-watering games are coming our way in this Tri series. It will be interesting to see how the hosts perform in the coming games against these two powerhouses.
The Tri series promises to be exciting, and the coming days will have a lot for all of us to be enthralled about at the Harare Sports Club. All matches of the Tri Series are at Harare, and all are Day games.
Also Read:Â ZIM T20I Tri Series: SWOT Analysis of Zimbabwe Cricket Team