T20 WC, ZIM vs NED: Craig Ervine elects to bat
A competent-looking Zimbabwe will cross swords with the winless Netherlands in the ICC T20 World Cup. Zimbabwe tasted an agonizing three-run beating from Bangladesh in the last fixture. Meanwhile, the Dutchmen will be heading toward eviction if they come up short against Craig Ervine's men. Zimbabwe skipper Craig Ervine has won the toss and elected to bat first.
Here are the two teams
Netherlands (Playing XI): Stephan Myburgh, Max O'Dowd, Tom Cooper, Colin Ackermann, Bas de Leede, Scott Edwards (captain and wicket-keeper), Roelof vander Merwe, Logan van Beek, Fred Klaassen, Paul van Meekeren, Brandon Glover. Zimbabwe (Playing XI): Wesley Madhevere, Craig Ervine (captain), Regis Chakabva (wicket-keeper), Milton Shumba, Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Ryan Burl, Luke Jongwe, Tendai Chatara, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani.
Pitch report, timing, and broadcast details
The Adelaide Oval will play host to this fixture. The venue boasts an average first innings total of 155. Chasing sides have won four of eight matches played here. Rain can hamper the play in the first innings. The match will be telecast live on Star Sports Network (9:30 AM IST) and live-streamed on the Hotstar app.
Here's the head-to-head record
Zimbabwe have a 3-1 W/L record over the Dutchmen in T20I encounters played to date. They stamped a five-wicket win in their maiden meet in 2014. Netherlands leveled the scores in 2019 only to suffer a super-over defeat a few days later. Zimbabwe bested their rivals by 37 runs in the ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier this year.
Who are the key performers?
Middle-order batter Raza has thumped 661 runs this year, averaging 34.78 (50s: 5). Ngarava has collected 28 wickets at 29.07 in his career, including figures worth 2/24 versus Bangladesh. Meanwhile, Muzarabani has snared 39 wickets at 23.51. Cooper has scored 592 runs while striking at 128.41 (50s:3). Opener O'Dowd has compiled 1,508 runs at 29.57 (100s: 1).
