Ireland tour of Zimbabwe

ZIM vs IRE, 2nd T20I

Preview

The second T20 match between Zimbabwe and Ireland will be played on Saturday, January 14 of the 3-match T20I series. The match will start at 4:30 PM IST. The venue of the match is Harare Sports Club, Harare. 

The Hosts won the first match by five wickets and have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20 series on Thursday against Ireland. Zimbabwe displayed a clinical performance and outplayed the Irish side with bat and ball. The Hosts would be hoping to replicate the same performance in the second T20I and try to seal the series by 2-0 on Saturday.

This is the first match of the 3-match T20 series to be played between Zimbabwe and Ireland. Both teams will be seen playing for the second time after the T20 World Championship, both teams could not qualify during the T20 World Championship but both teams were impressed with their performance.

The Irish side defeated the World Champion-winning England team in the round of 12, while the Hosts gave a good fight to the Pakistan team, which shows that it can emerge as the best team in the T20 format in the coming times.

For The Hosts, the all-rounder Sikandar Raza will miss this series due to commitments in other T20 leagues in another country. Craig Ervine and Tadiwanashe Marumani will be the openers for this T20I series against Ireland. The left-handed batter Gary Ballance will continue to bat in the middle order along with Craig Ervine for the Hosts. the all-rounder and match-winner for Zimbabwe Sean Williams will be the key all-rounder with Ryan Burl. The fast bowler Richard Ngarava could be the MVP for the team with his bowling exploits.

For Ireland, The most experienced batter Paul Stirling and the left-arm pacer Josh Little will miss this series. Ross Adair opened the batting with Andy Balbirnie in the last game where the side lost the match by 5 wickets. He should get one more chance. Stephen Doheny can be seen at number 3 and Curtis Campher will bat in the middle order for Ireland. Barry McCarthy is the key bowler for the side in this series.

Match Details

Match: ZIM vs IRE, 2nd T20I, Ireland tour of Zimbabwe, 2023

Date: Saturday, January 14th, 2023

Time: 04:30 PM (Jan 14)

Venue: Harare Sports Club, Harare, Zimbabwe

Pitch Report: 

The pitch here at Harare Sports Club has hosted 37 T20I games in which the team batting first won 23 games. The average score here is 146 runs but we just saw the low-scoring game at this venue with 118 runs in the first match. The previous game was a low-scoring one and this game can go in the same direction. The 37 games have seen scores over 190 only 7 times. So be prepared for a total of around 140 runs.

The maximum temperature will remain at 26°C, a low of 16°C with 88% humidity, and a wind speed of 14 Km/hr for the second T20I on Saturday between Zimbabwe and Ireland. Also, there is a hint of cool conditions after a slightly chill afternoon with slight rain. However, unfortunately, rainfall is expected in the next week in Harare. We may have some rain in the second T20I with a 60% chance of it.

ZIM vs IRE Squads:

Probable Playing XI

ZIM: Innocent Kaia, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Gary Ballance, Craig Ervine, Sean Williams, Clive Mandade, Ryan Burl, Brad Evans, Tendai Chatara, Richard Ngarava, Luke Jongwe

IRE: Andrew Balbirnie, Ross Adair, Harry Tector, Tyrone Kane, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Neil Rock, Curtis Campher, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Fionn Hand.

Match Prediction:

The Hosts have better balance thanks to their all-rounders and the knowledge of the conditions is a big advantage which they have shown in the first T20I as well. The Visitors have lost their last 3 games while ZIM has won 2 and lost 3 of their last 5 games. In head-to-head battles, The Hosts have won all the last 3 games. The form and the conditions suggest Zimbabwe will win this game as well on Saturday to go 2-0 up in the series.

Suggested Playing XI Real11 Fantasy Cricket