Preview
The second of the three T20Is between Zimbabwe and Pakistan will take place at the Harare Sports Club on April 23.
Pakistan managed to draw first-blood in the series by securing the opening game by 11 runs. It was not a convincing game by any stretch of imagination for a side that was deemed as overwhelming favourites ahead of the series. Pakistan were faced with a threat of getting bowled out without facing the full quota of their overs. But it was once again Mohammad Rizwan’s rescue act of 82* off 60 that propelled the visitors to a fighting total. Pakistan will be looking to improve upon their batting performance and seal the silverware on Friday.
Zimbabwe, on the contrary, gave a decent account of themselves. Bowling first after winning the toss, the hosts had Pakistan pinned down with an exceptional bowling display. However, they were let down by some ordinary ground fielding and the extras conceded didn’t help their cause either. Zimbabwe would still draw a lot of inspiration from their outing and would be eager to give Babar Azam and his men a run for their money yet again.
Match Details
Match: Zimbabwe v Pakistan, 2nd T20I.
Date & Time: April 23, 2021, 2.00 PM PST.
Venue: Harare Sports Club, Harare
Predicted Playing XIs
Zimbabwe: Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, Sean Williams, Brendan Taylor, Ryan Burl, Craig Ervine, Regis Chakabva, Wessly Madhevere, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Donald Tiripano, Luke Jongwe
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Hafeez, Haider Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Usman Qadir
Fantasy XI and Captaincy Pick
Captain: Babar Azam had a stellar T20I series against South Africa, notching up 210 runs at a sublime average of 52.50 including a grand hundred – his first in the format. He is also on the brink of becoming the fastest-ever to 2000 T20I runs and, given the form he is presently in, he may waltz to that landmark and surpass it tomorrow. Babar Azam fell cheaply in the first T20I and would be itching to come good the second time around.
Fantasy Playing XI: Mohammad Rizwan (vc), Babar Azam (c), Fakhar Zaman, Craig Ervine, Wessly Madhevere, Sean Williams, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Donald Tiripano, Blessing Muzarabani, Shaheen Shah Afridi
Pitch Report and Weather Conditions
The surface at Harare is usually a batting-friendly deck with the average 1st inning total being 159 runs. The conditions are generally more suitable to seam bowlers who can extract decent nip off the pitch as was evident in the series opener. The short-pitched deliveries seemed to skid quicker off the surface and many batsmen succumbed to these heavy balls. The weather for Friday is expected to remain mostly sunny with periodic clouds and temperatures fluctuating between low to mid twenties.
