Chevrons eye ODI series, ranking boost Richard Ngarava

Eddie Chikamhi-Senior Sports Reporter

THE Chevrons could climb more places up the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League standings if they win the final match of the One Day International series which ends in Belfast today. 

The Zimbabweans are leading the three-match series, 1-0 after the second match was washed out by the rains, last Friday. 

They faced a tricky chase, after Ireland posted a challenging 282/8, before the rains intervened. 

But, the Chevrons need to try to correct some of the mistakes they made, in the field on Friday, after containing the top order with some fine bowling from Richard Ngarava and Blessing Muzarabani, earlier on.

However, they let their opponents off the hook later on and Ireland had a flourish, towards the end, in which they raked up 112 runs, in the last ten overs. 

Whether Zimbabwe were going to cover up for their shortcomings, with the bat, remains a matter of debate. 

The Chevrons pocketed five points, from the match, to move from the bottom of the 13-team Super League table. 

Lalchand Rajput’s men beat the hosts by 38 runs, in the first match, of the series.

They still hold the aces, in this contest, which forms a qualification pathway to the 2023 ICC World Cup. 

Zimbabwe still have good chances if they can reproduce their spirited performance,  from the first game, with both bat and ball.

The Chevrons, who rose one place to 12th on Friday, had begun the Super League on a bad patch. 

They lost five of their six matches, in the two series against Pakistan and Bangladesh, in the last few months. 

The tour of Ireland should provide them with the redemption they need, having last won an ODI series back in 2019, when they thrashed lowly UAE 4-0, at home. 

The return of experienced players like Brendan Taylor, Sikandar Raza and Sean Williams has bolstered the batting line-up. 

The Chevrons will also be banking on the form of Muzarabani, whose four-wicket haul was crucial, in the first game. 

Ngarava took three wickets in the aborted second game.

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