http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Gary-Kirsten-c58527 praises Zimbabwe’s performances in T20 tri-series – Cricket News Update
South Africa’s head coach Gary Kirsten has lauded the Zimbabwean team for their outstanding showings during the recently wrapped up Twenty20 Triangular Series during which they hosted South Africa and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747, saying the Rhodesians had effectively managed to come together and give an all-round performance.
“Those guys are firing,” Kirsten observed. "They've got some explosive match winning players and good variety in their bowling attack."
Prior to its commencement, the unofficial tri-series was seen as largely one-sided – South Africa are currently second from the top on each of the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zimbabwe-c3045 and Bangladesh are floundering at the bottom of the tables.
However, the series took an unexpected turn when Zimbabwe emerged as the most dominant team – after defeating the Tigers in the series opener by 11 runs, they went on to clinch a surprise 29-run victory over giants http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757.
The Rhodesians found a solid opener in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/BRM-Taylor-c1200 also proving a fairly consistent number 3 batsman, with individual totals of 38, 38, 27, 1, and 59*.
In addition, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Kyle-Malcolm-Jarvis-c71974 also put forth a promising display, taking a total of 6 wickets.
The series culminated in a final played between Zimbabwe and South Africa, which resulted in the host team going on to claim the tournament title after a 9-wicket victory. The triumph is likely to grant the Rhodesians a major boost in confidence before they go into the ICC World T20 in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758, scheduled to be played in September this year.
Commenting on the reasons behind their shoddy performances in comparison to the host team, Kirsten pointed out that his team had not gone into the series for the purpose of winning, but rather for experimenting with their team line-up in order to find a winning combination prior to the World T20.
“Our reason for this tour was slightly different to theirs. They played a fearless type of cricket because of the settled nature of their team. I suppose we went with an unsettled team because we wanted to test combinations,” he said.
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