Sri Lanka have always been a strong team in world cricket, and Zimbabwe have to find some way to get around things and defeat the island nation to have some chance of reaching the tri-series final . West Indies top the table with seven points, while Sri Lanka are second with five points. With Zimbabwe only having two points so far, this match against Sri Lanka at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Monday is a must-win game for the home side.
The two sides met in the opening match of the tri-series, and Zimbabwe were completely outplayed in all departments of the game. Sri Lanka emerged victorious by eight wickets with Asela Gunaratne being the pick of the bowlers, picking three wickets and Dhananjaya de Silva scoring 78 runs.
But, Sri Lanka were not able to carry that form against West Indies, who won by 62 runs. Though Sri Lanka might come into this clash not-so-confident, Zimbabwe will walk into this game after having played some good cricket against West Indies, where the match was tied. Zimbabwe and West Indies shared two points each.
The home team, who will be egged on by the fans, will have to play superb all-round cricket to defeat Sri Lanka, who are also in need of a victory to go top of the table with 10 points. Zimbabwe have a decent batting order with the likes of experienced Chamu Chibhabha, Craig Irvine, Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams, who will have to do the bulk of the scoring.
First of all, they need a solid start from Chibhabha and Brian Chari for others like Williams and PJ Moor to take advantage. However, it is their bowling, which needs to be better against the Sri Lankan batsmen.
Sri Lanka have quality batsmen like De Silva, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Upul Tharanga and if these players have a great day with the bat, Zimbabwe might have a long day in the field.
Where to watch live
Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe tri-series match is schedule for 09.30 am local time (7.30 GMT, 1pm IST). TV and live streaming can be found below.
India: Ten 3. Live streaming: Ten Sports Live
Sri Lanka: Ten Network
US: TV: Willow TV. Live Streaming: Willow TV Online.