291/2 (44.1)
CR : 6.59
290/8 (50.0)
CR : 5.80
Zimbabwe won by 8 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
Craig Ervine
121(128)
44.1
1lb
R Paudel to C Ervine
That's it, the hosts chased down 290 runs with 35 balls to spare. Fuller delivery on the pads. Ervine flicks it but misses it on the pads. The ball rolls down to short fine leg for a single. Zimbabwe wins by 8 wickets.
ZIM won by 8 wickets
7:35 PM IST| An outstanding 8-wicket victory for the host as they pummel down Nepal in this encounter. Craig Ervine(121*) and Sean Williams(102*) remained unbeaten till the end and finished the game with 5.5 overs remaining.
While chasing a target of 291 runs, Joylord Gumbie and Craig Ervine started the Zimbabwe innings on a blistering note as they stitched 45 run stand for the first wicket. The opening stand was ceased by Sompal Kami as the right-handed Gumbie walked back for 25(29). Wessly Madhevere walked in at number three and continued the momentum forward with Ervine and the duo stitched 82 runs of partnership. However, Gulsan Jha broke this partnership when he trapped Madhevere for 32.
Sean Williams joined forces with Ervine at the crease and accelerated the innings. The partnership between the two was flourishing. Ervine completed his own century with a boundary. On another side, Williams also completed his century. The duo glued 164 run partnership for the 3rd wicket and remained unbeaten till the end and finished the game with 5.5 overs remaining.
From a bowling point of view, Sompal Kami and Gulsan Jha were the only bowlers who extracted a wicket. Both extracted a solitary wicket each.
After being invited to bat first, Nepal did not begin as they would have wanted as the first 2 overs they searched for a run but the openers then got in the groove and hit the ball wherever they wanted, sharing 20 fours and 2 sixes amongst them with both Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh. They glued 171 runs stand for the first wicket which became the highest partnership for any wicket in ODI matches for Nepal. However, Wellington Masakadza broke this partnership as he bowled a delivery that uprooted Bhurtel's off-stump, causing him to fall agonizingly short of his well-deserved hundred, just one run away. That was soon followed by Sheikh for 66. Nepal faced a mini-collapse at the cue end of the innings and were restricted to 290/8 at the end of 50 overs.
From the bowling front, Richard Ngarava shone with the ball for Zimbabwe, bagging 4 wickets for 43 runs in 9 overs. Wellington Masakadza has a couple to his wickets column, while Tendai Chatara and Blessing Muzarabani contributed one wicket each.
Stick around for the post-match presentations…….
Player of the match: Craig Ervine
Craig Ervine (Player of the match): "Pretty excited, it was a great pitch to bat on. It just gave me a chance to settle and try to bat deep. Our focus was on giving ourselves a chance and forming solid partnerships. The goal was to bat deep into the innings. Personally, I am delighted with my performance so far, but it's hard to predict how things will unfold. I aim to continue in a similar vein. As a team, our intention was to assert dominance while chasing the target. It's my nature to start off slowly, a characteristic that has been consistent throughout my career. However, our plan was to accelerate as we progressed deeper into the innings."
Rohit Paudel ( Nepal Captain): "We didn't bowl as well as we had hoped, particularly in the middle overs. Williams and Ervine both hit quite well, though. Anywhere between 280 and 300, in our opinion, would be ideal. However, we became aware that we were short as we spotted the wicket. Our recent 10 to 15 games have seen excellent chasing. Having said that, we are equally capable of defending and chasing. I believe the boys performed admirably even today. They simply need to maintain their composure."
Craig Ervine (Zimbabwe Captain): "We were looking to replace the bowlers and find someone who gets a breakthrough bowler. We didn't get off to a good start, missing a few catches, which put us at a disadvantage. But credit to the boys for fighting back hard. We were joking that it would be simple to achieve if we kept them between 280 and 290. Thought there would be more movement in the front, but the weather was nice all day. To their credit, Nepal put us under pressure for a significant portion of the innings. We just tried to reduce it to a few building components one at a time. Sean Williams' excellent batting performance helped to relieve a lot of the pressure."
That’s a wrap from our side as well. Thank you for joining us from all around the globe. This is Prince Suman signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Deepak Prakash and Scorer / Analyst Zeeshan Naiyer. Do join us for the other fixtures across the globe. Until then, Ta-Ta, Bye-Bye.
Gulshan Jha
17 yrs
Best67
Innings16
Runs313
SR73.82
Avg34.77
Gulshan Jha
17 yrs
Best3/28
Innings16
Wickets13
Economy6.57
Avg32.28