zimbabwe vs pakistan

[zimbos_05]

Just watching the highlights again. So many mini moments. Ngaravas full toss in the penultimate over. Raza taking two in two. For me the most important is Ervines boundary save off the first ball in the last over.

He turned a 4 into 3 and at the end of the day, we won by one run. That is as crucial as it gets.

[slcricfan1]

It's all about composure for now. There is too much on the line in every single game to expect a 21 year old to come into the team and start cracking sixes. Jongwe must stay in the team for now. All those drastic changes can be done after the world cup. Even though his bowling wasn't that great he still got a very important wicket yesterday.

I feel for Chatara but this is a good problem not a bad one. His bowling is not fast enough against the top sides. The game he can come in is maybe against the Dutch.

Chakabva owes us a knock. In his defence he probably won us that game against Australia with his contribution but his natural game is that run a ball type of innings that most of these guys are comfortable with. As I said before it's all about composure for now. There is just too much on the line to expect Madande to come in and perform.

Unlike Evans, Madande and Munyonga are much younger and have not yet experienced enough pressure situations. Somehow Evans has already been involved in about 4 really tough matches where he contributed. He has the mental part of his game figured out.

Jongwe is not given enough credit for his ability to take wickets and also his death bowling (which he hasn't had much chance to do yet in this tournament) . He is also a better bat than Munyonga who has done absolutely nothing with the bat and looks more like a club cricketer

And why is no one talking about removing Burl, who has not scored any runs recently and has bowled poorly?

Burl will clutch up somehow later. Dont change the winning combination. The only batter who is better than any player in this side is Marumani but he isnt in the squad. Jongwe is a better hitter than the Munyonga and Madande. They`re too raw. WIll come good in two or three years I think

[sam_ahm]

BTW guys, there is a reason why I keep pushing for Brad Evans inclusion even when team was doing well and Chatara and Jongwe were doing well.

Evans played a critical role with the bat towards the end which helped Zimbabwe get to 130 , he helped in adding those 20 extra runs with the bat and then bowled the last over and showed Nerves of steel.

If Chatara Or Ngarava had walked in instead of Evans, Zimbabwe would probably have got only 115 and this game was lost.

Evans should never be the one sitting out, they can choose between Jongwe and Chatara. Evans brings a lot more to the table than those two.

[Xlife]

BTW guys, there is a reason why I keep pushing for Brad Evans inclusion even when team was doing well and Chatara and Jongwe were doing well.

Evans played a critical role with the bat towards the end which helped Zimbabwe get to 130 , he helped in adding those 20 extra runs with the bat and then bowled the last over and showed Nerves of steel.

If Chatara Or Ngarava had walked in instead of Evans, Zimbabwe would probably have got only 115 and this game was lost.

Evans should never be the one sitting out, they can choose between Jongwe and Chatara. Evans brings a lot more to the table than those two.

Never is a strong word... we've seen Evans bowling get smacked about before and it will likely happen again. I do agree though that's there's something there with the bat (the makings of a decent all-rounder like his dad) and so can replace Burl at 7 if he continues his poor form

[jaybro]

I’m so pissed off I missed this game, I had some big wigs from work over from the UK and had a very important meeting with a potential client Friday. So I thought I’d do the responsible thing and go to bed after getting home after dinner and drinks.

Watching the mini match on Kayo (30 minutes of highlights) it looked like an incredible game, the Pakistan innings anyways. Both sides looked dead and buried yet continued to fight back. I seriously can’t believe the turn around since Dave took over, I actually feel confident they’ll win in every game.

[CrimsonAvenger]

Zimbabwe must definitely be the break through team of this year's WC. They have done way beyond expectations and won many a hearts of the neutrals. Dave has done wonders with the side. We have lost many a game when we were in a position to win. Its a great feeling turning the tables and actually getting over the line even when the odds are against us. Famba Zimbabwe.

This.

A big performance at a big stage is still the best way to catch the world's eye. So, not being in the world cups earlier was a disaster in that context. There is so much new found love for Zim in India too from what I see - Indian Twitter profusely pouring out love for Zim brings back memories of the good old days when Indian media and cricket followers loved their tenacity. Pak Bean episode and beating Pak also helping their popularity in India of course, but a lot of the love and respect feels so genuine.

[Donald]

I cant believe rajput is riding on the coatails of zimbabwes new found form and winning streak. Reading an interview with local indian newspaper he refers to the team as his boys

Cant believe this guy

[Googly]

What's unbelievable is that he's still part of the system.
Maybe they didn't want to pay him out a lump sum, maybe he's doing good networking behind the scenes with BCCI, BUT it still stinks.
I don't think in the history of cricket there has been such a turnaround from losses to wins. In theory he will never be looked at by any team again in a coaching role. Him just opening his mouth and trying to spin it for his own benefit is shameless, not that we didn't know he was bereft of that emotion.
His big issue was clearly with Raza who essentially came out swinging and the reality is we have not won a game where Raza has not made the biggest contribution, which is a massive worry. (Actually Evans should have been MoM this last game.) If he has an ordinary day or if he retires we are almost back to square one. There's no disputing there's an upbeat mood and better camaraderie in the camp, which is largely Houghton's doing and it's vital, but a string of losses is likely to see more finger pointing and meddling by the hierarchy and they'll resurrect their underground network of folk all too willing to snitch on any real or perceived issues. What will remain a mystery is why they tolerated Rajput so long and why he remains in the system.

Kirby is the one that needs to bowl smartly. He will rely heavily on Dave to learn the ropes because believe me its a minefield once the honeymoon is over. Belting out the anthem is only first base. He's a tough Yorkshireman with a strong work ethic and he will perhaps at some point be treading a fine line with some of our bowlers and perhaps others.

Who has made a noticeable improvement of late? It's an interesting one.
Clearly Raza is having the year of his life and is our talisman. He plays the situation better than he used to. He hates quick bowling, doesn't matter what the TV says.
Hes had a golden arm. Despite his 4 ways of holding the ball his deliveries don't actually do much, but he's been hitting good lengths. We owe Raza big time, he's been amazing. And we owe Dave for enabling Raza to get rid of the wasps in his head.

Ngarava has really come on. He can bowl quick, bowls fewer loose deliveries and now has that one that comes back into the right hander going well.

Evans has had a great start to his international career. He can bat a bit and is probably our most reliable line and length bowler, but at this level some of his bowling can be a a bit innocuous and he can get some real tap. He let one go at about 143, so why does he bowl 130 and grunt with exertion? Let's see if Kirby can squeeze another 8kph out of him consistently and get the ball to do a bit more.

Madhevere looks a real class act, the time he had against the SA and Pakistani quicks sets him apart. He can quietly tick along at 130% strike rate without much fuss as well. If he can somehow find more consistency and play that nasty ball at him better he's going to have a good career. He makes a few mistakes in the field but he's electric. I always thought he was a bit overrated but I was wrong, he's a really gifted cricketer. If he continues to work hard and doesn't put on 20kg after his first ton and start wearing 4kg of gold chains he's going to be somebody.

Blessing looks ok. I haven't seen a noticeable improvement, he's always been good.

Chatara has bowled well and got himself back into the mix with some hard work, but Evans is likely to make either him or Jongwe warm the bench.

I honestly believe Luke is the guy that really has the capacity to improve his game. I keep watching him bat and I see massive ability. He's got time on the ball, which you can't buy and he's wasted his ability to date. He needs to shed some kilos and improve his bowling. He's absolutely had a golden arm, but now needs to go up a notch or depending on which way the "selectors" see it, either he or Chatara are going to make way for Evans.

I can't help feeling that Williams has to give us two good innings from the next two games. Our batting is shite and he's the one guy we know who can deliver. Same as Craig.
He has to find a way to go better than a run a ball. He loves that dink behind square that gives him a single and it's instinctive. He finds it really hard to have an attacking mindset, but he also knows that a run a ball 30 is not a bad thing with our batting line up. The opposition just have to do their homework and know that most of our batters can't do much with a heavy length at them.

I keep saying Burl is in the wrong position and it's because he's perhaps the best option as a finisher, but he's not firing, although that was a critical innings with Evans where they just accumulated. It's a conundrum where to bat Burl and Chakabva and they haven't got it right. Chakabva definitely owes us a quick 25 off 15, he's there because we have no keeper/batsman options. Well we have Marumani and how he's not in the squad ahead of Mandande is a mystery. He has the best chance of pulling off a pinch hitting role, but we will now only find that out later. When Reggie opened I don't know if his instructions were to go hard or not, but he's only succeeded a few times. He goes too hard and loses shape.
Reggie down the order is a better idea than as an opener. How long has it taken them to figure that out?
We are so unlikely to get off to a flyer. Realistically we need to shoot for 45 and 2 down max.

Shumba is a good player, but he's struggling to go at better than a run a ball. Nothing has changed.
We don't have one batsman that can regularly clear the ropes in the V. That's alarming to say the least. The opposition could most times do away with long off and long on and they've saved themselves 20 runs.

Nearly all our wins against big teams, going back decades, have been defending low totals. We've never had the batting depth and this team's batting is no exception, and that's being kind.

[sscricket]

I draw a parallel with the movie gladiator in which maximus (raza) finally leads a small team of fighters to Rome after fighting in the pits..This is really the big time and I want zim to take big bite out of India (Rome) on this stage. Forget the reputations. No amount of money can buy you team spirit. If you can get babar Rizwan out you can do the same to kohli and team. Need some runs on board now...

[Kriterion_BD]

When did Evans clock 143? I've seen him get up to 135 a few times.

Blessing has bowled up to 144 I believe. Ngarava has hit 140. These are the fastest that I've seen.