Zestful Zimbabwe look to end campaign on high against in-form South Africa
Zimbabwe will need to fix their bowling woes against a skillful 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 the success story for Zimbabwe and inspired by their leader Sikandar Raza, they would be determined to push South Africa to the limit. South Africa is the team to beat in the ICC showpiece 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 the West Indies and India.
Raza knows they can only compete with the bigger teams if they do well in all three departments.
“At the World Cup against the best teams, you need all your three departments to be working hand in hand. And unfortunately, if one lacks, then the game runs away from you. “So hopefully in the last game, leave everything on the park and we try and sort out all our three departments and hopefully that gives us the best chance to win the game,” 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 maximise the power play. Bennett, who is yet to be dismissed in the tournament, showed against India 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 and complemented well 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, too are at the top of their game 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, return 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. It is a dead rubber effectively with South Africa already through to the semifinals and Zimbabwe eliminated from the race following back-to-back losses.
