 The first ODI between Zimbabwe and New Zealand will be played in October
20, at 7:30 GMT in Harare. New Zealand won the Twenty20I series by 2-0, so they
will be the favourite for the ODI series.
Zimbabwe were beaten in the second Twenty20I as well, but this time they played
a better cricket than the first Twenty20I, in fact, they were beaten by 34 runs
in the second Twenty20I while in the first ODI they were beaten by 10 wickets.
Batting first the tourists put up a massive total of 187 runs in 18 overs.
Click for Live Score Card of Zimbabwe Vs New Zealand
Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill both repeated their first innings
performance; McCullum scored 64 runs only from 37 balls while his opening partner
Guptill smashed 67 runs only from 46 balls. Guptill was judged as the man of
the match as well.
But there are some positive signs for the hosts in this match. Two of their batsmen
Chibhabha and Chigumbura played very well scoring 65 and 39 runs respectively,
but their bowling was not sharp at all. So, Zimbabwe must give a lot of priority
in the bowling department, when they will be meeting the tourists in the first
ODI. They batting improved a lot in the second Twenty20I, so now they have confidence
in their mind that they can bat well against this mighty side.
The tourists must be happy with their superlative performance in the Twenty20I
series. They will be now thinking to repeat their winning performance throughout
the ODI series. Another emphatic win against the hosts in the first ODI will be
their primary target.
In the Twenty20I series most of their batsmen had to stay in the dressing room,
but this time may be some more batsmen will get chance to bat and show their
talent. When it comes to their bowling then Nathan McCullum who is the
brother of hard hitter batsman Brendon McCullum is expected to perform
well once again like the second Twenty20I, while he took three wickets and it
was very crucial for New Zealand.
New Zealand will be the favourite as they won the Twenty20I series and have
better players in every department, but Zimbabwe could be dangerous too
as they are playing at home, and will also be more desperate than the tourists
to get a win.
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