Mumbai. With a lot of confidence, the West Indies team would like to be cautious of Zimbabwe’s spirit in the Super Eight match of the T20 World Cup on Monday. Both the teams have been unbeaten in the tournament so far and will try their best to continue this trend. Both West Indies and Zimbabwe have made it to the next round by topping their respective groups, but the real challenge is yet to come. This will be a tough test for two-time champions West Indies in the format in which they usually perform brilliantly. The team has performed well so far under the coaching of former champion captain Darren Sammy, but playing well consistently will be the biggest challenge. By winning four consecutive matches, West Indies have proved that the defeats in seven bilateral series before the T20 World Cup are now a thing of the past.
The Caribbean team has again emerged as a strong contender. They registered a spectacular win against England and defeated weaker teams easily. Captain Shai Hope (155 runs, two half-centuries) has returned to form, Shimron Hetmyer (134) has shown a brilliant performance at number three. Jason Holder and Roston Chase have also strengthened the team. The explosive batting of Sherfane Rutherford (126) has been important for West Indies. Romario Shepherd’s all-round ability has provided balance to the team, and he will look to take advantage of his experience of playing at the Wankhede in the IPL. On the other hand, Zimbabwe has raised new hopes in the cricket world with its excellent performance. He had surprised everyone by defeating Australia and Sri Lanka and now he would like to prove that his victory was not just a coincidence.
Super 8 match will be played between West Indies and Zimbabwe on Monday.
Zimbabwe has achieved its biggest goal by reaching the Super Eight. Now he will face West Indies, South Africa and India. Looking at the spirit of his players, no one will be surprised if he pulls off another upset. Young Brian Bennett has been a batting star for Zimbabwe. He has scored two half-centuries and is the highest run scorer of the team with a total of 175 runs. The interesting thing is that this 22 year old batsman has not hit even a single six in the T20 World Cup yet. West Indies cannot ignore this. Zimbabwe has hit a total of eight sixes in this tournament, while West Indies has hit 36 sixes in just four matches.
The Zimbabwe team, captained by Sikandar Raza, played all its league matches on the challenging pitches of Sri Lanka, while the West Indies were playing in India. The boundary at Wankhede Stadium is small and the pitch is flat, due to which West Indies can get advantage. This will provide a new challenge to Zimbabwe’s fast bowlers Blessing Muzarabani (09 wickets) and Brad Evans (08). But the victories over strong teams like Sri Lanka and Australia make it clear that Zimbabwe is ready to give a tough competition to its opponents. Therefore, any kind of carelessness can prove costly for the West Indies.
The teams are as follows: West Indies: Shai Hope (captain and wicketkeeper), Johnson Charles (wicketkeeper), Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Quintin Sampson, Roston Chase, Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Matthew Forde, Akil Hussain, Shamar Joseph, Gudakesh Moti, Jayden Seales.
Zimbabwe: Sikandar Raza (captain), Ben Curran, Clive Madande (wk), Tadivanashe Marumani, Dion Mayers, Brian Bennett, Ryan Burl, Brad Evans, Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Graeme Cremer, Tinotenda Maphosa, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarwa.