Mumbai, India (AP) — Sikandar Raza called correctly at the coin toss as Zimbabwe opted to bowl against the West Indies in their Group 1 Super 8 clash at cricket's Twenty20 World Cup.
South Africa and India are the other two sides in Group 1 — the Proteas beat the defending champions by 76 runs in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
It is a chance for both sides competing today to put additional pressure on the co-hosts.
Zimbabwe had topped Group B in the league stage — it showed stunning T20 form in beating Australia and Sri Lanka in the first round.
It is Zimbabwe’s first qualification to the T20 World Cup’s second round. Meanwhile, West Indies had topped Group C.
Both sides have made one change — for Zimbabwe, left-arm medium pacer Richard Ngarava comes in for spinner Wellington Masakadza.
West Indies brought in medium-pace allrounder Romario Shephered in place of Roston Chase.
The pitch at the iconic Wankhede Stadium should aid batters in general. However, it has slowed down in the second innings over the course of the tournament, so the side chasing could face difficulty unless there is ample evening dew.
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Lineups:
Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Ryan Burl, Sikandar Raza (captain), Tashinga Musekiwa, Tony Munyonga, Dion Myers, Brad Evans, Graeme Cremer, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani
West Indies: Brandon King, Shai Hope (captain), Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Matthew Forde, Akeal Hosein, Gudakesh Motie, Shamar Joseph
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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket