THE present Chevrons team has equalled the most consecutive wins record in Day Internationals (ODIs) for Zimbabwe which was set by the great 1999 team after a close 14 runs win over Oman at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo yesterday.
The last time Zimbabwe won seven consecutive matches in the 50-over format was in the 1998/99 season, with a team that had the likes of Andy Flower and the present record breaking side who are on a quest of qualifying to the World Cup have levelled that feat, after winning five consecutive matches during the 2023 Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifiers.
The 1999 side had wins against India and Bangladesh. The present team won two matches in a row against Netherlands prior to the World Cup Qualifiers where yesterday’s victory made it five in the competition, thus making it seven wins in a row. A win in their next Super Six match against Sri Lanka on Sunday at the same venue will see them making it eight out of eight ODI victories.
Zimbabwe went into the match as favourites and had to dig deep to collect maximum points at the end of the 100 overs. The Chevrons were sent in to bat first and managed to set yet another record. Zimbabwe scored 332/7 in 50 overs, their highest ODI total at Queens Sports Club. They went on to restrict Oman to 318/9 in 50 overs to move to six points on the standings.
It was another special outing for all rounder Sean Williams who, once again finished as the team’s leading run scorer. Williams scored his second consecutive ton and his third of the tournament as he fell for 142 runs off 103 deliveries while Luke Jongwe finished with an unbeaten 43 runs off 28 balls.
Jongwe came into the match as a batter and was handy with the bat at the back end of the Chevrons’ innings. Sikandar Raza, for the second consecutive match fell in the 40s, this time scoring 42 runs from 49 balls as Zimbabwe set a good score for their opponents. Fayyaz Butt finished with the best bowling figures for Oman, taking 4/79 in his 10-over spell.
In the second innings, the Chevrons struck early in the match, with Blessing Muzarabani taking the wicket of Jatinder Singh for just two runs, leaving Oman on 29/1 in 4,4 overs. However, Kashyap Prajapati and Aqib Ilyas made Zimbabwe toil for the second wicket, before the latter fell for 45 runs off 61 deliveries. Prajapati went on to top score for Oman with a brilliant century, finishing on 103 runs from 97 balls. Aayan Khan also fell short of his half century as he was caught on 47 runs from 43 deliveries.
Muzarabani had the best bowling figures for Zimbabwe, ending his innings on 3/57 in nine overs while Tendai Chatara also took three scalps and conceded 73 runs in eight overs. Richard Ngarava took two scalps for 60 runs in nine overs.
For his brilliant century, Williams was named player of the match for the second time running and is the tournament’s leading run scorer with 532 runs from five innings at an average of 133.
Zimbabwe are yet to taste defeat in the World Cup Qualifiers and face a tough challenge on Sunday against Sri Lanka, who are in action today against Netherlands at Queens Sports Club.
The top two teams from the Super Six will proceed to the World Cup in October in India and Sri Lanka and the Chevrons look set to claim the two spots.
Tickets for the Super Six matches are pegged at US$2 for the rest of the ground and US$5 for the grandstand and are available at the gates at Queens Sports Club. After the game against Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe will go on to face Scotland on Tuesday in their last Super Six match.
Zimbabwe will play all their Super Six matches in Bulawayo and two wins are enough to send them to the final which will be played on July 9 in Harare. – The Chronicle
