AI Simulation, ZIM vs SA | South Africa cruise to tri-series finale with six-wicket bashing of Zimbabwe

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As per AI, Gerald Coetzee will be the pick of the bowlers for South Africa against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club on Sunday with three scalps

As per Chat GPT, Zimbabwe are set to be eliminated from the home tri-series on July 20 once they succub to a six-wicket thrashing at the hand of South Africa. The Proteas are expected to restrict the Chevrons to 142/9 before cruising through to the target with 11 balls and six wickets to spare.

‌Pitch and Weather

Courtesy of what has been a busy winter in Harare, the pitch had quite evident cracks on the surface ahead of the encounter which only opened up further under the blazing sun. The dry surface as a whole, meanwhile, played low and slow, offering plenty of help for the spinners throughout the encounter.

As for the weather, the skies were clear of any clouds albeit humidity remained a factor to reckon with for the players. A hint of breeze helped, both in cooling proceedings and aiding swing with the brand new Kookaburra.

Toss

Zimbabwe won the toss and decided to bat first.

Lineups

Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Wesley Madhevere, Clive Madande (wk), Sikandar Raza (c), Ryan Burl, Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Masekiwa, Tino Maposa, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani, Trevor Gwandu

South Africa: Reeza Hendricks, Lhuan-dre Pretorius (wk), Rassie van der Dussen (c), Rubin Hermann, Dewald Brevis, George Linde, Senuran Muthusamy, Andile Simelane, Gerald Coetzee, Kwena Maphaka, Nandre Burger

Match Report

Zimbabwean openers Brian Bennett and Wesley Madhvere got off to a cautious start against the swinging new ball and with the occassional boundar nearly survived the entirety of the powerplay. It took a vicious inducker from disguised Gerald Coetzee to beat Bennett's inside edge and end the 40-run stand, leaving the six-over score reading 43/1. As soon as the field spread, Proteas skipper Rassie van der Dussen turned to spinners George Linde and Senuran Muthuswamy and the former instantly repaid the faith by sending Madhevere and Clive Madande packing in quick succession. Together, the spin duo gave away just 48 runs in their combined eight overs, but Sikandar Raza and Ryan Burl showed tenacity to make their partnership tick without undue risks. However, as the need for an outburst grew, the pair latched onto Andile Simelane with a 21-run 13th over only for Coetzee to return to the attack and scalp both in the space of three deliveries. With the score thus 112/5 at the end of 14, the vistiting bowlers took over to concede just 30 in the final six overs and ensure their team a subpar target of 143.

Reeza Hendricks and Lhuan-dre Pretorius got the chase off to an explosive start with eight boundaries in the first four overs to eventually have the score read 52/0 at the of the powerplay. It took skipper Raza himself to break the bludgeoning stand but the wicket offered little respite as counterpart van der Dussen walked in next, brimming with patience. The leader was happy playing second fiddle while Hendricks continued to cause mayhem at the other end and once the opener departe for a 27-ball 36, it was Dewald Brevis' turn to play aggressor. The hard-hitter practically killed off the game with 15 runs in the 16th over to leave the Proteas needing less than run-a-ball, a task van der Dussen carried out with aplomb by scoring the winning runs with 11 balls to spare and end unbeaten on 39 off 32 deliveries.

Player of the Match

Gerald Coetzee was the clear frontrunner for the man-of-the-match award after his returns of 3/23 in four overs helped decimate the Zimbabwean top-order and restrict them to a subpar total of 142/9.