"Australia and Zimbabwe have minimal history of meeting in T20Is with only two clashes since Prosper Utseya's side pulled off the shock of the 2007 T20 World Cup. Normal service was resumed when Australia beat Zimbabwe convincingly in a pair of matches in Harare in 2018, with the first win set up by Aaron Finch's fireworks. The Australia captain hammered 172 from 76 balls in a devastating knock that still stands as the second highest by a men's batter in the international format."
"Both sides made winning starts to their campaign with the undermanned Australia brushing aside Ireland by 67 runs, and Zimbabwe making even lighter work of Oman in an eight-wicket victory. But there is little margin for error from here with only the top two in each five-team group to progress to the Super Eight stage, and co-host Sri Lanka also likely to challenge for those pivotal places."
"Australia captain Mitch Marsh is unlikely to be fit to face Zimbabwe after copping a painful blow to the, ahem, midriff in training ahead of the team's T20 World Cup opener. Tim David is also expected to miss today's game at R. Premadasa Cricket Stadium as a thin squad continues to teeter on the brink of an injury crisis. The absence of the heavy-hitting duo might help open the door for Zimbabwe to pull off what would be a huge upset."
Sikandar Raza called tails but the coin fell heads and Travis Head sent Zimbabwe in to bat first. Australia and Zimbabwe have met infrequently in T20 internationals, with only two previous clashes since Zimbabwe's 2007 World Cup shock. Australia dominated a 2018 Harare series, highlighted by Aaron Finch's 172 from 76 balls. Both teams won their opening group matches, Australia over Ireland by 67 runs and Zimbabwe over Oman by eight wickets. Only the top two teams from the five-team group advance to the Super Eight, increasing pressure. Mitch Marsh is unlikely to play after a midriff impact in training and Tim David is expected to miss, leaving Australia short-handed and prompting consideration of a late Steve Smith inclusion.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]