Can Zimbabwe Have a Fairytale Ending?
They have never won a tournament involving more than two Test nations, but they have also never been in such a form as their current one. Zimbabwe have managed to chase off scores that have been termed difficult, while destroying the bowling of Test nations as if they were the minnows. The hosts take on Sri Lanka in the final of the tri-series with an aim to bank on their fairytale journey.
Sri Lanka on the other hand will be banking on their returning cricketers, the ones who missed the penultimate match of the series, which the hosts won convincingly. Ajantha Mendis will be back against his favourite opponents, against whom he has always been successful despite not being in the best of forms recently. He, along with Nuwan Kulasekara, will be hoping to help Sri Lanka win the event, and avenge the upset defeat of the tournament.
No one expected Zimbabwe to top the points table with 13 points, since all believed the second string squads from Sri Lanka and India would flourish against the hosts. But they have been left disappointed, as the hosts defeated India twice and Sri Lanka once to prove their mettle, and qualify for the final of the tri-nation tournament.
The man of the moment, the batsman most instrumental in Zimbabwe’s revival, has been Brendan Taylor, who has not only been in sensational form but has also bagged as many as three Man of the Match awards. It was Taylor who three years back hit the winning runs against Australia in the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup, knocking them out of the event!
So why has Taylor been so important to Zimbabwe? Zimbabwe had struggled for a good opener since the departure of Murray Goodwin and Neil Johnson in 2003, and the decisions to send Taylor up in the order and handing the wicket-keeping gloves to Tatenda Taibu have paid dividends for coach Dave Houghton who himself had been instrumental as a wicket keeper batsman in Zimbabwe’s pre Test status days. It seems he would play his part again, as the Zimbabweans’ good show might make the ICC revoke the suspension on their Test status for good.
Taylor has been supported in his quest for excellence by fellow opener Hamilton Masakadza, and teammates Chamu Chibhabha, Tatenda Taibu and Charles Coventry. All these batsmen need to be at their best when the hosts face the re-enforced Sri Lankans in the final tomorrow. They would also be banking on the support of their spinners, who have been tremendous throughout the event. Ray Price will be leading the young spinners, including former skipper Prosper Utseya and newcomer Graeme Cremer, whose exploits remind one of Paul Strang, who devastated batsmen with his leg break during the 1996 World Cup. Fielding has always been the strength of Zimbabweans; their aggression in the field has made them lethal and unbelievable at times.
Sri Lanka will not be much worried ahead of the grand finale, but they are wary of the Zimbabwean magic, a glimpse of which they saw in the dead-rubber earlier this week. The visitors would be banking on the amazing form of their openers Tillakaratne Dilshan, who is also the stand-in skipper, and Upul Tharanga. The form of newcomer Dinesh Chandimal, who scored his maiden ODI century in only his second match, will play a key role in the grand finale alongside all-rounder Angelo Mathews and the pace duo of Thilan Thushara and Dilhara Fernando.
Suraj Randiv, who is being termed as the successor of Muralitharan, will lead the spin trio which also features the Mendis kids - Ajantha and Jeevan. Although the tournament is being termed as a ‘chase and win’ event, the best team will be the one that keeps calm and handles the pressure well. May the better team take the trophy!
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