Zimbabwe vs Pakistan Match Preview, 1st ODI

ZIM vs PAK. (Photo Source: X/Twitter/Anwar Khan)

Hosts Zimbabwe (ZIM) will take on the visitors Pakistan (PAK) in the first ODI at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, on Sunday, November 24. Pakistan are coming off an emphatic ODI series in Australia. Though they lost the T20I series, they will take immense faith from the ODI series win going into another series of the same format against Zimbabwe. These ODI fixtures will be the first for the Zimbabwean cricket team after they were outclassed by Sri Lanka in January. 

Premier batter Babar Azam has been rested for the Zimbabwe series and Pakistan will enter without their star player and former captain to assist the newly named skipper, Mohammad Rizwan. Rizwan flourished in his very first assignment as the new leader and he would like to continue the momentum against the minnows Zimbabwe.

Match Details

Pitch Report

The Queens Sports Club will aid pacers and batters will be able to time the shots well. It is generally feasible for batting as the game goes on, but spinners can generate results if they bowl with line and lengths. On the weather front, there are 40 percent chances of rain during the afternoon in the second half of the game.

Head-To-Head Record:

ZIM vs PAK Predicted Playing XIs

Zimbabwe:

The onus will be on the likes of Sean Williams and Craig Ervine to anchor the innings as Zimbabwe’s top order has always left them under the shadow. Sikandar Raza will be a key player for the hosts as the all-rounder has been their star player over the years.

Predicted XI: Joylord Gumbie, Dion Myers, Sean Williams, Craig Ervine (c), Brian Bennett, Sikandar Raza, Clive Madande (wk), Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani, Faraz Akram and Trevor Gwandu.

Pakistan:

Pakistan will be banking on Haris Rauf to replicate his newly found bowling form during the recent Australia series in Zimbabwe as well. Tayyab Tahir will hope to fill the big shoes of Babar Azam, while the newcomer Kamran Ghulam was impressive against England in the Test series. 

Predicted XI: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Tayyab Tahir, Mohammad Rizwan (c/wk), Kamran Ghulam, Agha Salman, Irfan Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain.