Zimbabwe vs Sri Lanka Match 4, Super Sixes, ICC CWC Qualifiers 2023, Pitch Report, Head to Head, Probable XI and Fantasy Predictions

ZIM vs SL Match Details

The Super Sixes round of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers 2023 is going on and three matches are already finished. Now, we have Match No. 4 which will be played between the host Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on 2nd July 2023. The match will get underway at 12:30 PM IST or 9 AM local time. Both teams are unbeaten so far and this is going to be a neck-and-neck contest. The host might be playing their toughest and biggest match of the tournament. 

Pitch Report

The pitch is good to bat on and we can see some good scores here. Five matches have been played here and 4 matches were won by the team batting first. Captains would try and look to bat first since the spinners will come into the fray in the 2nd innings. So, bat first and get runs on the board and defend it.

ZIM vs SL Super Sixes Match 4 Preview

Team Zimbabwe

The hosts are unbeaten so far and they are ticking all the right boxes. They entered the Super Sixes round with 4 points with them. This is their 2nd Super Six match and they won the first one against Oman by 14 runs only. It was a terrific effort from Oman to fight till the end but Zimbabwe hold their nerves. Oman elected to bowl first and the conditions favoured the pacers. Sean Williams smashed his 3rd hundred in this tournament and he is in the form of his life. A couple of handy contributions from Sikandar Raza and Luke Jongwe helped them to post a total of 332 runs. 

Oman had an uphill task to do and the Zimbabwean bowlers made sure of it. Tendai Chatara, Richard Ngarava and Blessing Muzarabani picked most of the wickets and did the job to restrict Oman to 318 runs. It was a nervy win for Zimbabwe. Overall, The batters, middle order and their bowlers are doing no wrong. Sean Williams is the highest run-getter so far and Sikandar Raza hold the 5th position in the list. Richard Ngarava is the 2nd highest wicket-taker of the tournament so far. 

Team Sri Lanka 

Sri Lankans are also unbeaten and are flying high. They also entered the Super Sixes round with 4 points. A win here will qualify them for the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 later this year. This is their 2nd match in the Super Six round and they won the first one against the Netherlands by a small margin of 21 runs. Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat but their batters failed to capitalize. Dhananjaya de Silva rescued the team with his brilliant 93 runs and helped them to post 213 runs. In response, they outclassed the Netherlands and didn’t offer any room to play strokes. The spin duo of Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga got the job done by picking 5 wickets between them. 

Their bowling has been right on the money but their batters need to improve a little more. Nevertheless, they are playing superbly. The top order of Pathum Nissanka and Dimuth Karunaratne has often given them a flying start. The middle order does look solid and the lower order can do bat as they demonstrated against the Netherlands. The masterclass bowling especially the spinners have made their task easy so far. 

ZIM vs SL Head-to-Head Records

The two teams have played each other 60 times in ODI history. Sri Lankans were too good to win 46 times while Zimbabwe won only 12 times.

ZIM vs SL Key Players To Watch

We will take the stats of the ongoing ICC Qualifiers 2023 tournament to understand the player’s current form.

Team Zimbabwe

Team Sri Lanka 

ZIM vs SL Squads

Team Zimbabwe

Joylord Gumbie (wk), Craig Ervine(c), Wessly Madhevere, Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams, Ryan Burl, Clive Madande, Wellington Masakadza, Innocent Kaia, Richard Ngarava, Tendai Chatara, Blessing Muzarabani, Luke Jongwe, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Brad Evans

Team Sri Lanka 

Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis(wk), Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Sadeera Samarawickrama,  Dasun Shanaka(c), Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lahiru Kumara, Chamika Karunaratne, Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana, Dushan Hemantha

ZIM vs SL Probable Playing XI

Team Zimbabwe

Joylord Gumbie (wk), Craig Ervine(c), Wessly Madhevere, Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams, Ryan Burl, Luke Jongwe, Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava, Tendai Chatara, Blessing Muzarabani

Team Sri Lanka 

Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis(wk), Charith Asalanka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka(c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dilshan Madushanka, Lahiru Kumara

ZIM vs SL Match 4 Fantasy Predictions

Team Zimbabwe

Team Sri Lanka 

ZIM vs SL Fantasy Team XI

Based on the stats above, this could be the fantasy playing XI.

ZIM vs SL Betting Tips – Who Will Win?

If we take a look at this pitch, Zimbabwe will play their first match and therefore they don’t have too much idea how it would work. On the other hand, Sri Lanka has played most of their matches on this ground and therefore pretty habitual about its behaviour. Based on this assumption, Sri Lanka should win this match. However, both these teams struggled a bit in their last matches so expect a thriller contest.

Cricket enthusiasts should consider placing a cricket bet on whichever team is considered the favourite in the Zimbabwe vs Sri Lanka match according to the different sportsbooks.

Conclusion

Both teams are doing no wrong at the moment and deserve this position that they are in. However, at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, Sri Lanka has played five matches and won all of them and now they are used to this pitch while Zimbabwe hasn’t played a single game here therefore it would be a huge task for the hosts to pull out a victory.