Zimbabwe will be looking to bounce back when they take on Afghanistan in the third and final ODI of the ongoing series. The game will be taking place at the Harare Sports Club, Harare.
Beleaguered hosts will be desperate to end the ODI series on a winning note after the humiliating loss in the second ODI.
The hosts suffered a crushing 232-run loss in the penultimate game of the series. After the first game was washed out, Afghanistan thoroughly outplayed the hosts to take an unassailable lead in the series.
Riding on Sediqullah Atal’s century and his opening partner Abdul Malik’s 84-run knock, Afghanistan scored 286/6 in 50 overs. In reply, the hosts were all out for just 54 runs in 17.5 overs with AM Ghazanfar and Naveed Malik taking three wickets each. Ahead of the third ODI, we are taking a look at the Zimbabwe Playing 11.
Zimbabwe Playing 11 vs Afghanistan – 3rd ODI, Afghanistan tour of Zimbabwe 2024-25
Openers: Ben Curran, Tadiwanashe Marumani (wk)
The onus will be on Ben Curran and Tadiwanashe Marumani to give the hosts a good start with the bat in the must-win game. Both the batters have failed to impress in the series so far. In the first game, Curran scored 15 runs before being dismissed for a duck in the second game.
On the other hand, Marumani failed to reach the double-digit mark in both games so far. He was out for only 6 runs in the first game before being dismissed for 3 in the second game.
Middle-order batsmen and allrounders: Brian Bennett, Dion Myers, Craig Ervine (c), Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza
The hosts; middle and lower order have not been able to impress with the bat either. Brian Bennett has had a disastrous series so far as he was dismissed for a duck in both games.
Dion Myers has not done well either, scoring 12 and 1 run in the first two ODIs. Captain Craig Ervine will be looking to lead his team from the front in the must-win clash. He was unbeaten on 1 in the washed-out first game before scoring 4 runs in the second ODI.
Senior players such as Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza will have to lead Zimbabwe’s charge with the bat in the upcoming game. Williams and Raza were the only batters to reach the double-digit mark with the bat in the second ODI.
Bowlers: Tinotenda Maposa, Newman Nyamhuri, Richard Ngarava, Trevor Gwandu
Just like the batsmen, the Zimbabwe bowlers will also look to do well in the third game. The hosts are unlikely to make any changes to the bowling lineup in the Zimbabwe Playing 11.
In the second ODI, they failed to provide the early breakthrough and it cost the team big as Afghanistan went on to post a big total.
