Time: July 7, 1 PM IST
Venue: Harare Sports Club, Harare
Pitch report
The pitch at Harare has been dry for the past few years, gradually helping the spinners. However, there was some swing on the opening days of the Test series between Zimbabwe and Pakistan earlier this year.
Teams
Sean Williams and Craig Ervine had to self-isolate after coming in contact with COVID-19 positive members of the family.
Probable XI for Zimbabwe: Kevin Kasuza, Takudzwanashe Kaitano, Regis Chakabva (wk), Brendan Taylor (c), Milton Shumba, Dion Myers, Donald Tiripano, Roy Kaia, Richard Ngarava, Tendai Chatara, Blessing Muzarabani
Tamim Iqbal is yet to completely recover from the knee injury he suffered on the Sri Lanka tour. The decision on his availability will be taken on the morning of the match.
Probable XI for Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Saif Hassan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mominul Haque (c), Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Abu Jayed, Shoriful Islam
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Players to watch out for
Brandon Taylor has 6 Test centuries, of which 5 came against Bangladesh. To make things more interesting, he has scored twin-centuries twice against them. At the venue, he has three centuries – again, all against the same team. By all means, there’s no greater player in fantasy cricket for this game.
Mushfiqur Rahim scored a spectacular 203* the last time these two teams locked horns, at Dhaka in 2020. Since then, in 4 Tests, his scores read 38, 18, 54, 14, 68*, 40, and 40.
The pitch has all the ingredients for Shakib Al Hasan to boast of a champion performance. He has a knack for trapping the right-handers, and there are plenty in the opposition team. Against Zimbabwe in 6 games, he has scored a hundred and taken as many as 26 wickets including three five-wicket hauls.
Regis Chakabva was the highest run-scorer for Zimbabwe against Pakistan. The knock of 80 runs especially showed how talented he is when he bats with grit and resilience. He has scored a hundred and three fifties against Bangladesh.
Blessing Muzarabani will be the pace spearhead. He was impressive against Pakistan, taking 7 wickets at 22. He dismissed the likes of Babar Azam, Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, among others.
Dion Myers scored two half-centuries against South Africa A last month. It’s time for him to translate his talent into performance at the international level.
Prediction
Both teams have won seven Tests against each other, with three games resulting in a draw. For all we know, Tests between these teams are often exciting. Zimbabwe might not be the force they once were, but they have a reputation for switching on their A game against Bangladesh. However, the visitors have a superior spin department, and that might turn out to be the substantial difference.
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