T20 World Cup: Zimbabwe will be led by Sikandar Raza, while Jatinder Singh will captain Oman
Both Zimbabwe and Oman will open their T20 World Cup campaign at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo in the eighth match of the two-team tournament being played in India and Sri Lanka.
As far as the recent form of the two teams is concerned, both Zimbabwe and Oman are coming into the competition after playing the regional qualifiers and would want to carry that by putting on a strong show with bat, ball and in the field.
If we talk about the players to watch out for, Zimbabwe will depend a lot on its experienced player in the form of all-rounder Sikandar Raza, who has made a reputation while playing in a number of T20 leagues around the world.
Oman, on the other hand, would back captain Jatinder Singh to lead from the front while batting at the top of the order.
T20 World Cup: Captains’ Speak
Deciding to bowl first after winning the toss, Zimbabwean captain Sikandar Raza said that the team will look to hit its straps right from the first ball, and the 10-12 days that they have had in Sri Lanka will play a vital role in ensuring that. On being asked what would be a good score on this pitch, Sikandar Raza was of the opinion that anything that the opposition set, they will have to get a run more than that. Having said that, Raza admitted that Zimbabwe will look to restrict Oman to a low score.
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Raza’s counterpart, Jatinder Singh, said the conditions are quite hot compared to what they experienced in Oman. However, he also added that arriving early in Sri Lanka and playing a few games will come in handy when it comes to adjusting to the conditions. In terms of score, Jatinder said that anything around 160-165 would be ideal.
T20 World Cup: Playing XI
Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Dion Myers, Brendan Taylor (wk), Sikandar Raza (c), Ryan Burl, Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani
Oman: Jatinder Singh (c), Aamir Kaleem, Hammad Mirza, Wasim Ali, Karan Sonavale, Jiten Ramanandi, Vinayak Shukla (wk), Sufyan Mehmood, Nadeem Khan, Shah Faisal, Shakeel Ahmed
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T20 World Cup: Nature of the surface
The surface used for the match in question, to be played in Colombo, is expected to assist the spinners because of its dryness, meaning that the batters will have their task cut out. The openers, especially, will have to play with caution and get used to the pace and bounce of the wicket in the initial few overs. A score of 160-170 is what the team batting first should look to post on the board.
