Zimbabwe takes on Sri Lanka in the second ODI in Colombo on Monday, January 8. The match starts at 2.30 pm IST. The African nation narrowly escaped a defeat in the first ODI as rain came to their rescue.
Craig Ervine will lead Zimbabwe. He is amongst their most experienced players in the side. The other senior player is Sikandar Raza who is also the T20I skipper of the side. The African nation are touring Sri Lanka for a three-match ODI series followed by a three-match T20I series.
Zimbabwe are placed 11th in the ODI rankings and not playing its best cricket at the moment. They failed to qualify for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 as they lost to Uganda in the African qualifier.
Given how their bowlers performed in the first ODI, their tour is only going to get tougher from here on. If they are to challenge Sri Lanka in their own backyard, they need to perform better with both bat and ball.
The African nation has not had too much success against Sri Lana. They won just 12 out of 61 ODIs against the Islanders and are yet to win a T20I and a Test match. Eyes will be on the senior players from Zimbabwe to turn the tide of the national cricket team.
Since the first ODI was not completely played, Zimbabwe might just play the same side in the second ODI as well. However, given the performance of some of their bowlers, the think tank might want to replace them with the more experienced pacers.
Zimbabwe Playing 11 vs Sri Lanka – 2nd ODI, 2024
Craig Ervine (C)
Ervine was out for a duck in the first ODI. He was one of the two wickets to fall in the chase. He is the second most capped player in this side with 117 ODIs. He is inching closer to 4000 ODI runs for his side.
Tinashe Kamunhukamwe
Tinashe was the other batter who was dismissed for a duck. The right-hand batter has played 11 ODIs and 12 T20Is for Zimbabwe having made his ODI debut back in 2018. His last ODI was against Ireland in December 2023.
Takudzwanashe Kaitano
Kaitano was unbeaten for 1 off 16 balls in the first ODI before the game was called off. It was his 10th ODI and he has a best of 42 in 10 ODIs for Zimbabwe. He is the many inexperienced players in this Zimbabwe squad.
Milton Shumba
Shumba was the other batter unbeaten on two out of three balls before the match was called off by the umpires. He made his ODI debut back in 203 and has played eight ODIs for Zimbabwe so far. He has also played 4 Test matches and 20 T20Is for the national side.
Sikandar Raza
Raza the T20I skipper will slot in at five. He took 1 for 41 in his 10 overs in the previous ODI match and did not get his chance to bat. He is the most capped player for Zimbabwe having played 140 ODIs so far. He was named the best T20I player in 2023 having scored over 500 runs along with 17 wickets.
Ryan Burl
Clive Madande (WK)
Madande is one of the two specialist wicketkeepers in the side. He has played 12 ODIs and 17 T20Is for the national side. He made his T20I and ODI debut back in 2022. H took the catch of Avishka Fernando in the previous game.
Luke Jongwe
Jonge will be one of the pacers in the playing XI. He has picked up 40 wickets in 42 ODIs and 56 wickets in 55 ODIs. He is three shy of 100 international wickets. He did not play the first ODI.
Blessing Muzarabani
Blessing is the most experienced bowler of this bowling unit. He has been playing international cricket for the last six to six years and is one of the tallest bowlers in international cricket. He makes good use of his height to take wickets.
Faraz Akram
Akram took two for 58 in his ODI debut for Zimbabwe. He was able to keep Wellington Masakadza out of the playing XI. He should be given another game in the second ODI. The first ODI was his ODI debut for Zimbabwe.
Richard Ngarava
The left-arm pacer concludes the likely Zimbabwe XI for the first ODI against Sri Lanka. Ngarava took 2/39 in the first ODI and went past 50 ODI wickets for his country.
