Zimbabwe look to build on early series gains

Overview

Zimbabwe vs United Arab Emirates
2nd ODI
Harare Sports Club, Harare
Friday, 12 April; 9:30am local time, 7:30am GMT

Zimbabwe had a near-perfect game on Wednesday, 10 April, when they beat a relatively inexperienced UAE with strong performances from their marquee players. Tendai Chatara first returned 3/25 to help bundle out the visitors for 110, before the batting unit chased down the target in 23.1 overs.

Regis Chakabva and Craig Ervine showed their experience, stitching together an 80-run second-wicket partnership to put the game beyond UAE. Ervine, in particular, looked in supreme touch during his 46-ball 51. It ended in a seven-wicket win with plenty to spare, and will give Zimbabwe confidence going into the next game.

The bowlers, however, were the real heroes for the hosts. Kyle Jarvis, Donald Tiripano and Brandon Mavuta each picked up two wickets, while Sikandar Raza chipped in with the wicket of the dangerous Rohan Mustafa. Skipper Peter Moor will hope for an encore from his bowling attack on Friday.

UAE, on the other side, will have to raise their game significantly to pose a threat. Only one player crossed 15 on Wednesday, while just four registered double figures. The onus will be on UAE's experienced campaigners, like Mohammad Naveed, Rohan Mustafa and Muhammad Usman to step up.

UAE's bowlers didn't have much to defend, but would want to be more incisive. Zimbabwe's batsmen almost had no pressure on them while chasing down a small target. UAE got the wicket of Solomon Mire in the eighth over, but were unable to build on it.

UAE might consider bringing in Amir Hayat, the right-arm pacer, who was their second-highest wicket-taker in the ODI series against Nepal.

Key players

**Tendai Chatara (Zim):**Chatara has been in impressive form recently, claiming 15 scalps in his last nine ODI outings. He has 28 wickets at 26.85 at Harare Sports Club, and has won two Player of the Match awards at the venue.

**Ashfaq Ahmed (UAE):**The UAE opener has been their second-highest run-getter since January 2018, with 327 runs in 13 innings and a highest score of 92. He was dismissed for 2 in the first game, and will be keen to turn things around on Friday. Ahmed was pivotal to UAE's triumph at the ICC World Cricket League Division Two last year, where he scored an enterprising 114 in the final against Nepal.

Conditions

With the chasing side having won four out of the last six ODIs played at the Harare Sports Club, both Zimbabwe and UAE might be keen to field first. The forecast shows overcast conditions through the day, but with minimal chances of rain, which might bring the pacers into play.

Squads

Zimbabwe: Peter Moor (c), Solomon Mire, Regis Chakabva (wk), Sean Williams, Craig Ervine, Timycen Maruma, Sikandar Raza, Donald Tiripano, Kyle Jarvis, Brandon Mavuta, Tendai Chatara, Elton Chigumbura, Ainsley Ndlovu, Tony Munyonga, Brian Chari, Chris Mpofu

UAE: Mohammad Naveed (c), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rohan Mustafa, Ghulam Shabbir (wk), Shaiman Anwar, Muhammad Usman, Mohammad Boota, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, CP Rizwan, Zahoor Khan, Amir Hayat