Predicted Playing XI | Pitch & Weather Conditions | Netherlands vs Zimbabwe Match Preview:
The Worldcup caravan has reached Adelaide Oval, the stadium which will host its first match of the event on Wednesday. The match is due to be played between Zimbabwe and Netherlands. Both the said teams reached the Super 12s after subduing their opponents in group stage matches.
The Netherlands have the lowest, nearly non-existent chances of reaching the next round. The Dutch are currently resting at the last position among their group members, thanks to the four back to back losses they endured. Although, their defeat against Bangladesh was not a very high margin loss, as they were short of only 9 runs. The Asian giants, Pakistan and India, however, gained enormous victories over the Edwards-led men. This not only lost them points but also messed up with their NRR.
Zimbabwe have had an unforgettable tournament so far. Their victory against Pakistan, especially, will go down in Zimbabwean cricket history as one of the most remarkable wins. Further, this has amplified their morale a thousand times. This can be supported by the fact that even after losing from Bangladesh in their recent outing, the Chevrons still have the victory glow and high spirits to carry the momentum they had after their victory over Pakistan. Their raised spirits make them lethal and favourites for this match against the Dutch. Moreover, their still breathing chances of reaching the semis will be a source of continuous confidence and motivation for Craig’s men.
HEAD TO HEAD:
The Chevrons and the Dutch have met each other on 4 occasions in T20Is, from which Zimbabwe won three matches and Netherlands won 1 match. Their most recent encounter was when both teams locked horns in the World cup qualifier in July.
WEATHER AND PITCH REPORT:
There is a good 60% chance of rain in Adelaide on Wednesday according to the Bureau of Meteorology, which means there is a high possibility of the maiden World cup match on Adelaide’s soil being either truncated or called off due to the rain.
The pitch of Adelaide provides assistance to both batters and bowlers. Pacers, like at the other venues down under, take advantage of the movement off the surface and bounce the pitch offers in the initial overs. The batters will have to respect the raging balls by pacers during the first overs.
Spinners also find their ball turning here and so they thrive, usually in the middle overs. The ground is oval shaped which makes the boundaries, especially, the straight boundaries huge in size but the square side boundaries will surely assist the batsmen as they are relatively shorter in size.
The pitch is not grassy like the Gabba’s, which means the batsmen will heave a sigh of relief and utilise these conditions to script high totals.
Known as one of the most batting-friendly pitches in Australia, the average total at the Adelaide Oval is 181. The spinners and pacers can complement each other here and use variations to trap the batsmen.
PLAYING XI (PROBABLE):
Netherlands: Vikramjit Singh, Max O’Dowd, Stephan Myburgh, Tom Cooper, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards (c&wk), Roelof van der Merwe, Tim Pringle, Logan van Beek, Fred Klaasen, Paul van Meekeren.
Zimbabwe: Wessly Madhevere, Craig Ervine (c), Milton Shumba, Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Regis Chakabva (wk), Ryan Burl, Tendai Chatara, Brad Evans, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani.
PREDICTION:
The pacers and spinners of Zimbabwe have given tough times to strokemasters throughout the tournament. The four-pronged fast bowling attack halted Pakistani Batsmen from even reaching a target of 131. Thus, the Chevrons pacers will have their eyes fixed on the Dutch batting lineup and will leave no stone unturned to send them back early and restrict them to a low total.
Sikandar Raza and Sean Williams will be assets for the African team, as they can use the pitch to ace both with the ball and bat.
Unfortunately, the already struggling batting lineup of the Dutch will be deprived of one of their main batsmen, Bas de Leede as he is nursing the injury Haris Rauf’s bouncer inflicted on him. The absence of the Dutch all-rounder will create serious problems for the team, both in batting and bowling. These reasons make the Zimbabwe team favourites for the match tomorrow.
WHERE TO WATCH:
TV Broadcast: Sky Sports Cricket, Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Mix, Star Sports, Fox Sports 501 & Channel 9 HD, 9GemHD, SuperSport Grandstand & SuperSport Cricket.
PTV Sports and A Sports will broadcast the match on television for viewers in Pakistan.
Digital Broadcast: Sky GO, Sky Sports app, Daraz app, AryZap, Tapmad, SuperSports app.
