(Zimbabwe take on South Africa in a must-win ODI match of the ongoing Zimbabwe Triangular Series 2014. Catch live cricket scores and updates of the match here)
Well that’s all from us today. This is Amit Banerjee signing off. Do stay tuned to our website for live updates for final between South Africa and Autsralia on Saturday, aside from the fifth and final ODI between India and England scheduled to be held tomorrow at Headingley.
So South Africa win the final game to top the table with 15 points. Zimbabwe never looked in control of the game except for the first part of the South African innings. They managed to capture a couple of early wickets but failed to capitalise on it. In the end, a brilliant knock by Faf du Plessis and some disciplined off-spin and proved too much for the hosts.
Faf du Plessis collects the ‘Man-of-the-match’ award to nobody’s surprise for his knock of 121 from 140 deliveries. “We have a basic idea of what the wicket is going to be like at the final [on Saturday]. I can give a lot of information on what Australia is going to do,”says du Plessis when discussing the big final on Saturday.
Zimbabwe 208 I Overs 45.3
A fantastic innings by Brendan Taylor finally comes to an end as South Africa have one wicket left for victory. Taylor tries to pull towards the leg side but ends up missing the line completely as Duminy takes his second wicket of the match. John Nyumbu comes in to bat.
Brendan Taylor b Duminy 79 (96)
Zimbabwe need 82 to win from the last six overs of the game, with Taylor on 69. A possibility of a century still lurks around the wicket-keeper batsman.
The game is nearing its end as Zimbabwe lose their eight wicket with the run out dismissal of Neville Madziva, who executes a nice sweep to send the ball towards deep square leg. Tries to come back for a third, and finds himself well-short of the crease when sent back by Brendan Taylor on the other end.
Neville Madziva run out (Miller/de Kock) 3 (11)
One more bites the dust. Too good for Prosper Utseya. Steyn pitches it at good length and Utseya pokes at it. Amla dives to his right at first slip.
OUT! P Utseya c Amla b Steyn 0(3)
First wicket of the match for Aaron Phangiso. After an innings of 17, a soft dismissal for Waller. It was flighted outside off and he edged it to the keeper.
M Waller c de Kock b Phangiso 17(22)
Zimbabwe lose their fifth wicket as skipper Elton Chigumbura who plays a pull shot and gets caught by David Miller at deep midwicket.
Elton Chigumbura c Miller b Rossouw 13(32)
ZImbabwe are in dire straits now as they have lost their fourth wicket after Sean Williams edges the ball a JP Duminy delivery onto his pads.
Sean Williams c Amla b Duminy 3 (15)
Zimbabwe lose their third wicket as Morne Morkel finally announces his presence in the match. Masakadza botches an attempted drive and manages to guide the ball towards de Vilier’s hands in the cover region.
Hamilton Masakadza c de Villiers b Morkel 26 (33)
The run flow has dried up for the Zimbabweans, though a careful approach is what is currently needed from the batsmen at the crease. Aaron Phangiso in the meantime has been introduced to the attack.
Zimbabwe lose their second wicket as things are starting to look tense for the hosts. Raza cuts a short-pitched delivery by Parnell towards deep point, where Miller safely collects it in his palms.
Sikandar Raza c Miller b Parnell 29 (32)
Zimbabwe lose their first wicket as Raza calls for a run after pushing the ball towards cover. AB de Villiers’ aim however proves too much for Sibanda as he uproots the middle stump with a brilliant direct hit. In comes Hamilton Masakadza.
Vusi Sibanda run out (de Villiers) 11(15)
The Zimbabweans have got off to a cautious start and the openers will look to remain unbeaten till the end of Dale Steyn’s opening spell.
The Zimbabwean openers Sikandar Raza and Vusi Sibanda walk out to bat with a huge responsibility on their shoulders. Dale Steyn will open the bowling for the visitors.
Parnell hoicks Madzivva over long-on for a six to finish things in style as South Africa reach a respectable 271 for the loss of six wickets. They managed to add 93 runs in the last ten overs, propelled mainly by some big-hitting by centurion Faf du Plessis.
du Plessis’s landmark innings finally comes to an end as he beginning to throw caution to the winds towards the end of their innings. Captain Chigumbura takes an easy catch in mid-wicket as Faf mistimes and top-edges a Nyumbu delivery.
Faf du Plessis c Chigumbura b Nyumbu 121 (140)
du Plessis brings up his fourth ODI century, his third in this series. Faf is truly in the form of his life and it would not be early to place a bet on him bagging the ‘Man-of-the-Series’ award.
Fewest days to make 3 ODI 100s: 4 Saeed Anwar, 6 K Sangakkara, 7, VVS Laxman & Q de Kock, 8 Mohammad Hafeez, 9 F du Plessis.
JP Duminy departs on the immediate delivery after reaching his 19th ODI half-century.
JP Duminy c & b Madziva 51 (62)
South Africa reach the 200-run mark, with their fourth fifty-run phase coming in 63 balls. The Proteas will now set their sights on the 250-run mark, while du Plessis would play a little more cautiously with the magical three-digit mark a stone’s throw away.
The du-Plessis-Duminy partnership is now worth 58 runs as the South Africans will look to add another 80 runs from the last ten overs.
South Africa 143/4 I Overs 33
The South African run-rate is going steady at 4.3, though it has to catch up is the Proteas are to post a match-winning total. du Plessis should start hitting freely if he intends to guide his team to a total in excess of 250.
South Africa lose their third wicket as a wonderful partnership between du Plessis and Rossouw worth 70 runs comes to an end. Rossouw tries to cut the delivery and misses it completely as his off-stump gets rattled. Misses out on a well-deserved half-century.
Rilee Rossouw b Sean Williams 36(39)
The partnership[ between Rossouw and du Plessis for the third wicket is now worth 51 runs as the duo are looking to take things at the crease with a hint of ease. Rossouw brings up the 50-run partnership with a shot through the covers for a boundary.
Hashim Amla is dismissed and his poor run in the current triangular series continues as South Africa lose their second wicket with just 26 runs on board. Things are startting to go downhill for the visitors and if they don’t pick themselves now, they could be headed for some serious trouble.
Hashim Amla c Chigumbura b Chatara 14 (21)
Any hopes for quick start for South Africa have been dashed by the early dismissal of Quinton de Kock as the Amla and du Plessis play cautiously to steer the visitors out of trouble.
Zimbabwe taste first blood as de Kock gets a glove to the ball down the leg side to the wicket-keeper to be dismissed for 2. Perfect start for the hosts as they will look to restrict the Proteas for a chaseable total.
Quinton de Kock c Taylor b Chatara 2(4)
The players walk to the field at the start of the South African innings. The Proteas will hope for a good opening stand in this game after a failed start in the previous encounter against Australia. A moment’s silence is observed in memory of South African cricketer Norman Gordon, who passed away on September 2.
Playing XI:
Zimbabwe: Vusi Sibanda, Sikandar Raza, Hamilton Masakadza, Brendon Taylor(wk),Malcolm Waller, Sean Williams, Elton Chigumbura(c), Prosper Utseya, Neville Madziva, John Nyumbu, Tendai Chatara.
South Africa: Hashim Amla, Quniton de Kock(wk), Faf du Plessis, Rilee Rossouw, AB de Villiers(c), David Miller, JP Duminy, Dale Steyn, Wayne Parnell, Aaron Phangiso, Morne Morkel.
Zimbabwe win toss, elect to field.
Hello and welcome to CricketCountry’s coverage of the sixth One-Day International (ODI) match at Harare between the hosts Zimbabwe and South Africa at the Harare Sports Club. This is Amit Banerjee, and I will be bringing you the live updates of the match. Read PREVIEW of the Zimbabwe vs South Africa match here
According to AFP, Zimbabwe must pull off a second shock victory in the space of five days on Thursday but must also beat South Africa by a big enough margin to qualify for a one-day triangular series final against Australia. The hosts stunned the cricket world on Sunday when they beat Australia, who were the No 1-ranked ODI team at the time, for the first time in 31 years.
The result gave Zimbabwe a glimmer of hope that they could reach Saturday’s final, but their chances grew even slimmer when Australia beat South Africa by 62 runs on Tuesday to clinch their spot in the final.
That left Zimbabwe needing not only a bonus point win over South Africa on Thursday, but also to significantly improve their inferior net run rate if they are to qualify at the Proteas’ expense.
Squads:
Zimbabwe: Elton Chigumbura (c), Sikandar Raza Butt, Tendai Chatara, Luke Jongwe, Tafadzwa Kamungozi, Neville Madziva, Timycen Maruma, Hamilton Masakadza, Shingirai Masakadza, Tinotenda Mawoyo, Natsai M’shangwe, Cuthbert Musoko, John Nyumbu, Vusimuzi Sibanda, Brendan Taylor (wk), Donald Tiripano, Prosper Utseya, Brian Vitori, Malcolm Waller, Sean Williams.
South Africa: AB de Villiers (c), Hashim Amla, Kyle Abbott, Quinton de Kock (wk), JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Aaron Phangiso, Rilee Rossouw, Mthokozisi Shezi, Dale Steyn.
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