Zimbabwe clashes with South Africa in the second One Day match of the three match series. The South Africans lead the series 1-0, after having defeated the home team by a huge margin of 93 runs in the first match.
The South African team went into the match as firm favorites and did not disappoint the fans as they produced a great all round performance. The hosts were not expected to defeat the visitors and they did not spring any surprise with their performance.
South Africa scored 309 runs from the 50 overs and the hero of the match was centurion Hashim Amla with a knock of 122 not out. He was well supported by Quentin de Kock and Faf du Plessis who scored 63 and 59 runs respectively. The bowling was led by spinners Aaron Phangiso and Imran Tahir, who picked up 3 wickets each.
The team will look for more of the same from these players as they look to attain an unassailable lead of 2-0 by winning the next match. Skipper AB de Villiers and JP Duminy are two other players that the team can rely on to make reliable contributions with the bat. Pacers Kylee Abott, Wayne Parnell and Ryan McLaren bowled well in the match, but were not able to pick a number of wickets.
For Zimbabwe, the standout performers with the bat were Hamilton Masakzada and Sean Williams who scored 61 and 51 runs respectively. The rest of the batsmen failed miserably with the only other notable contribution coming from the bat of skipper Elton Chigumbura who scored 36 runs.
The bowling department also looks very weak with every bowler going for plenty. The South African batsmen were not reasonably challenged and the Zimbabwean bowlers made scoring quite easy for the visitors. For the team to do well, they must perform collectively in order to get anywhere close to upsetting their mighty opponents.
Both teams are using this series as a practice for the upcoming tri-series involving Australia. South Africa will be expected to win the match again and hence take the championship. Zimbabwe will have to come up with something special if they are to come anywhere near to upsetting the South Africans.