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Zimbabwe vs Nepal Match Prediction, 1st Match of ICC World Cup Qualifiers, June 18th, 2023, Playing 11 and Pitch Report
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Zimbabwe vs Nepal match prediction: Zimbabwe will host Nepal in the opening match of the ICC World Cup Qualifier at Harare Sports Club, Harare, on June 18, 2023.
Zimbabwe is the hosting side of the ICC World Cup Qualifier, and they will go for the win against Nepal. Zimbabwe is a dark horse in the qualifiers because most fans and fantasy experts are not given any chance Zimbabwe to qualify for the world cup because there are few main teams out there in the tournament, like Sri Lanka and West Indies, who will be favorites to qualify.
Craig Ervine will lead the Zimbabwe side for the qualifiers, and he is one of the great captains who knows his player quite well. The team played 3 ODI series with the Netherlands, in which they won the series by 2-1. Zimbabwe won their warmup match against Scotland by 6 wickets.
Nepal had one of the fairy tale stories since the last year as they qualified for the ICC World Cup Qualifiers, and now they are in the hunt to qualify for the world cup for the first time.
Nepal team is one of the underdog teams who can surprise anyone with their performance, as they did in the last 12 ICC World Cup Qualifier stage 2 matches. They needed to win almost every match to be in the qualifiers, which they were able to do as they won 11 matches out of 12 matches.
“It was as if we’d won a World Cup,” “But I told the boys the journey has just begun.”
“The spontaneous call from the entire team to be alongside their colleague in this moment spoke of the camaraderie,”
“For Bhurtel to play the role of a son by giving his mother moral support, and then to come back and be clear on his role in the game was a tremendous achievement. He set the tone for the whole team.”
Desai said after Nepal qualified
Nepal won their warmup match against Oman by 2 wickets in which Kushal Bhurtel scored 101 runs in just 94 balls, and Bhim Sharki scored 58 runs to give his team 2 wicket victory.
Zimbabwe vs Nepal: Head-to-Head Record
Zimbabwe and Nepal never played any international ODI match against each other, but they have played 2 T20 matches against each other in which Zimbabwe won both matches quite easily, which gives them an upper hand in the upcoming class in the ODI World Cup Qualifiers.
Pitch Report of Harare Sports Club, Harare, for the first ICC World Cup Qualifiers Match between Zimbabwe vs Nepal on June 18, 2023
| Match Played | 174 matches |
| Batting first won | 81 matches won |
| Batting second won | 89 matches won |
| Average 1st innings scores | 230 runs |
| Highest Team innings total | 710/7 Declare by England vs India |
| Lowest Team innings total | 30/10 by South Africa vs England |
The pitch of Harare Sports Club is not batting-friendly, as pace bowlers get extra bounce and pace from the ball. Both teams does not have many quality batters who can face up the extra bouncing pitches, but the last time, when the Ireland team played on the same pitch, they found it easy to score runs.
The average over-scoring rate has been under 5 runs per over, and the 1st innings average total has been around 230, which clearly shows that it is not a pitch that will favor batters more than bowlers.
There will be hot conditions on the ground which is going to be challenging for the pace bowlers as it is an ODI format in which the main bowlers need to bowl at least 8 overs.
Team Preview of Zimbabwe Team
Zimbabwe will be a 3rd favorite in the qualifiers after Sri Lanka and West Indies, but they can be the first ones to qualify because they will play in their home condition, which will be a huge advantage for them.
Zimbabwe has some top international talent who played against the top teams in the world and also performed quite well against them, which is going to be a huge difference between Nepal and Zimbabwe teams. Exposure to international cricket is a positive sign for the team because playing against the top nations gives you confidence and experience in how to handle pressure.
Important Players of Zimbabwe in the match against Nepal
1-Sikandar Raza is one of the best all-rounders right now in world cricket, and his playing for the Zimbabwe team is a huge advantage for them because he has played in many leagues worldwide. This is going to be the last world cup for Raza, as he is 37 years old already. He has a great record in ODI as he played 129 matches in which he scored 3764 runs and took 76 wickets.
2- Sean Williams is one of the underrated all-around from the Zimbabwe side, but he has been performing for his country for a long time, and till now, he has played 149 matches in which he scored 4386 runs and also took 80 wickets which is an amazing all-round performance.
3- Blessing Muzarabani has been the top bowler for the Zimbabwe side for a long time, and he has been in many county teams in England and also played in some of the T20 league, which clearly showed his skills. He played 36 ODI matches in which he picked up 48 wickets which is quite amazing for any bowler, and the pitch favors bowlers more, so it can be an amazing outing for the pace bowler against Nepal.
Team Preview of Nepal Team
Nepal has been sensational in the past 2 years because they qualified for the World Cup Qualifiers and the Asia Cup. They are unbeaten in the last 8 matches and can defeat anyone with the confidence they have right now in the team.
They won their warm-up match against Oman by 2 wickets which is a great sight for the team who really wants to qualify for the World Cup, but it is going to be super hard for them because they will be against some major teams ICC who regularly plays ICC tournaments.
The one disadvantage they have in their first match against Zimbabwe is that their international exposure for ODI cricket is way nil compared to Zimbabwe.
Important players for the Nepal team in the match against Zimbabwe
1- Aasif Sheikh has been one of the top talents for the Nepal side, as in his last 10 matches, he scored 324 runs with an average of 40.50, and he is the wicketkeeper for the team. Overall, he played 37 ODI matches, scoring 1081 runs with an average of 31.79.
2- Bhim Sharki is one of the top young talents for the Nepal team, scoring 330 runs in just 11 ODI format matches with an average of 41.25. He scored 58 in the warm-up match against Oman, which clearly shows how good he can be in the future.
3- Sandeep Lamichhane is a world-renowned player as he played in many top leagues around the world and also took 104 wickets in just 43 matches. In his last 9 matches, he took 22 wickets which is quite impressive by any bowler, but the major issue is with the pitch condition because Zimbabwe’s pitches favor pace bowlers more.
It will be a tough match for the Nepal side, but if they want to be in the top 10 of the ICC World Cup 2023, they need to push hard for it.
Zimbabwe vs Nepal: Probable Playing 11 of Zimbabwe
Innocent Kaia, Craig Ervine (c), Wesley Madhevere, Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Ryan Burl, Clive Madande (wk), Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Tendai Chatara, Blessing Muzarabani
Zimbabwe vs Nepal: Probable Playing 11 of Nepal
Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh (wk), Bhim Sharki, Rohit Paudel (c), Kushal Malla, Aarif Sheikh, Sandeep Lamichhane, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Gulshan Jha, Lalit Rajbanshi
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