Zimbabwe vs Pakistan, 1st ODI Match Preview, Prediction and Live Streaming

Pakistan ended their tour down under on November 18 and almost instantly boarded the flight to Zimbabwe to squeeze in a 10-day tour before crossing the border to South Africa for a full tour starting on December 10. It really is uncharacteristic of Pakistan to play back-to-back cricket this way. As a result, they have done another uncharacteristic thing to tackle it too: rested main players.

Pakistan’s newly hired interim white ball coach, Aaqib Javed, said that they aim to make as many trial-and-error practices with the T20I as possible, but the ODI side will largely remain the same. What he did not mention was that the Zimbabwe tour is an exception to this rule. The three-match ODI series will see many regulars including Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Naseem Shah sit out.

In short, Pakistan have sent a hybrid between their senior and A team. But that is completely unrelated to the channel the Chevrons will welcome them with. Zimbabwe have a few shining milestones to flaunt on their resume, one of which is that they defeated Pakistan, not too long ago, in the T20 World Cup 2022. One can argue that Pakistan have never been on the same side following that defeat. True, it was an entirely different format but you really can not rule Zimbabwe out of the equation when it comes to going past their limit.

Team Overview:

Mohammad Rizwan will lead the side and essentially will be the only ‘big guy’ in the team as he will have a young army to guide. The only other regular would be Haris Rauf, who was tremendous in Australia recently. Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique might get the opening spots again after they thrashed the Australian bowlers in the second and third ODI. Pakistan would want to test their spin resources as well, for which they might give Abrar Ahmed a chance.

Zimbabwe, on the other hand, are not exactly spoilt for choices. They would largely be fielding many of the same players who defeated Pakistan in 2022. Sikandar Raza, Craig Ervine, and Sean Williams make up the core of the team with many exciting talents including Brian Bennett, who has been incredibly good as an all-rounder, Faraz Akram, another promising all-rounder, and the wicket-keeper opener, Joylord Gumbie, who struck a century against Pakistan Shaheens a couple of years back.

Head-to-Head Matches:

Zimbabwe have won four out of the 62 ODI games both sides have faced each other in, while as many ended without any result. The remaining 54 games have been bested by the men in green.

Weather and Pitch Report:

Bulawayo is everything Harare is not. It offers the classic assistance to the seamers with the new balls and at times, has been known to give something to spinners as well. Batting second is often preferred, especially in white ball games as the pitch tends to have eased down a touch after fifty overs of play. All in all, it is one of the few venues that offer something for everyone. There are chances of rain before the start of the game, though they will decrease significantly by the time the coin is flipped for the toss. However, it will greatly impact the conditions. Some delays can be expected during the game but the Zimbabwean crowd always makes sure that rain does not bore anyone to frustration.