Singapore T20I Tri-Series, Zimbabwe vs Nepal, 1st T20I Preview: Focus on Sean Williams as Zimbabwe usher in a post-Masakadza era

The T20 season is on folks! And with such a quick turn around, you sometimes forget which side or player is playing where. There are is the CPL going on in full flow. Besides that T20I series continue to be the flavor of the season. After playing a T20I tri-series in Bangladesh alongside the hosts and Afghanistan, the Zimbabweans are in Singapore to feature in another triangular- this time alongside hosts Singapore and Nepal.

The first game of the tournament will see them square off against Nepal at the Indian Association in Singapore. It has been a difficult few months for Zimbabwean Cricket both on and off the field. While the off-field politics have led to their board being suspended by the ICC, the performances on the field haven’t been inspiring either. They have just won two of their last 16 completed T20Is since January 2018; a testimony to their never-ending troubles.

They’ll now face Nepal, who are coming into this tournament, on the back off a fairly successful ICC Men’s T20 World Cup’ Asia Region Final held in Singapore in July. After losing their opening game to Qatar, they registered back-to-back wins against Malaysia and Kuwait before falling short eventually in the finals against Singapore.

Team Combination

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe has made a quite a few changes to the squad that featured in the T20I series in Bangladesh. Following the retirement of Hamilton Masakadza, we might see a new opening combination. Brain Chari and Regis Chakava could open the batting while the likes of Sean Williams, Peter Moor and Ryan Burl, who impressed in the Tri-series could spearhead the middle-order.

The bowling unit will be led by Tendai Chatara and Tinotenda Mutombodzi. The duo claimed 4 and 3 wickets respectively.

Probable Playing XIs:

Brian Chari, Regis Chakabva, Peter Moor, Sean Williams (C), Tinotenda Mutombodzi, Ryan Burl, Richmond Mutumbami, Wellington Masakadza, Neville Madziva, Tendai Chatara, Daniel Jakiel.

Bench: Tony Munyonga, William Mashinge, Timycen Maruma, Richard Ngarava.

Nepal:

Nepal has retained most of the players that were the part of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup’ Asia Region in July. Paras Khadka continues to lead the side and will most likely open the batting alongside Kushal Malla.

The spin bowling department will be spearheaded by Sandeep Lamichhane and Lalit Rajbanshi.

Probable XI

Paras Khadka, Pawan Sarraf, Dipendra Singh Airee, Md.Arif Sheikh, Sundeep Jora, Rohit Paudel, Binod Bhandari (WK), Karan Kc, Sompal Kami, Sandeep Lamicchanne, Abinash Bohara.

Bench: Sushan Bhari, Kushal Malla, Lalit Rajbanshi, Ishan Pandey.

The Focus will be on

Sean Williams: Zimbabwean cricket will usher in a new era under the leadership of Sean Williams following the retirement of Hamilton Masakadza. One of the best T20 all-rounders in the world, it will be interesting to see how Williams goes about in his new role. With the scores of 0, 2 and 21 not out in his last three innings, he’ll need his bat to do the talking for him.

Paras Khadka: The leading run-scorer for Nepal in T20I cricket (507 runs with 3 fifties), all eyes will once again be on Khadka, on how he spearheads his batting-unit.

Stat Attack

0.153: Zimbabwe’s W/L ratio in T20Is since the start of 2018. In 16 games, they have just managed two wins, testifying their struggles, literally.

6: Number of victories for Nepal in their last nine T20Is.

1st: This will be the first-ever T20I between these two sides.

Live streaming & Broadcasters: Willow TV (Canada), Fan code (India), Wec Sports (Singapore) and Singapore cricket association Facebook & YouTube.

Timing: 5:00 PM IST | 7:30 PM local | 11:30 AM GMT