ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers 2023: Zimbabwe vs West Indies Match 13 Fantasy Tips, Probable Playing XI, Pitch Behaviour and Betting Odds

Match Details

The host Zimbabwe will be taking on West Indies in Match 13 of Group A at Harare Sports Club on June 24. The match begins at 9 AM local time or 12:30 PM IST. Both teams are coming off this contest on the back of two wins. Zimbabwe defeated Nepal and Netherlands while West Indies got victories against the USA and Nepal. Both West Indies and Zimbabwe are placed in 1st and 2nd positions respectively on the points table. The men in Maroon are the favourites to win the game but Zimbabwe might fancy their chances too.

Pitch Report

The match will be played at Harare Sports Club and the pitch is a good one to bat on. Batters will enjoy the strokeplay here and the pacers can enjoy the bounce and carry at the initial stages of the game. The spinners will be effective as the game progresses. We can expect a run-fest here. Out of three matches played here in Harare, two were won by the team batting first and one was won by the team batting second.

Zimbabwe vs West Indies Match Preview

Team Zimbabwe

The host of this spectacular ICC World Cup Qualifiers tournament has been in sparkling form. They have the home crowd to support and cheer for them. Currently, they are enjoying the top spot in Group A with 4 points. Craig Ervine-led Zimbabwe is looking quite confident at the moment. The batting unit They won two in two and need one win to seal the spot in the next round. Zimbabwe won their opening match against Nepal quite convincingly by 8 wickets while the second match was played with the Netherlands and they emerged victorious by 6 wickets.

Zimbabwe’s captain, Craig Ervine, played an exceptional innings in the opening match, scoring an unbeaten 121. Sean Williams also smashed a wonderful century with a strike rate of above 145 and he became the first Zimbabwean to score the fastest hundred before Sikandar Raza broke his record in the next game. Richard Ngarva destroyed Nepal’s batting unit and picked up 4 wickets. Zimbabwean batters made it look so easy to chase the target of 291 runs. 

In the second match, the host was all over the Netherlands. They once again mastered the chase quite remarkably and this time it was Sikandar Raza who stole the show. He bowled a brilliant spell and took 4 wickets and then scored the fastest hundred in Zimbabwe’s history. He made 102 runs off just 54 balls which was a huge milestone. Now, they are up against someone that is the dominant side of West Indies. The team consists of Ervine and Williams at the top. Madhevere and Raza are handling the middle order while Ngarva, Wellington Masakadza, Tendai Chatara and Blessing Muzarabani are making the bowling stronger.

Team West Indies

West Indies are sitting just below Zimbabwe in Group B on the points table. The initial match was against the USA which they won by 39 runs. Somehow they escaped from the onslaught of Gajanand Singh. They posted 297 runs on the board and in return, bowlers did the remaining job. Brandon King, Johnson Charles and Shai Hope are taking care of the top order. Roston Chase and Jason Holder will look toward the middle over. Alzari Joseph and Akeal Hossein are the in-charge of the bowling department.

The second match against Nepal was a more convincing win. They thrashed the Nepal bowlers and posted a mammoth total of 339 runs. Captain Shai Hope hit the century and the wicketkeeper batter Nicholas Pooran also smashed the century. Again the bowlers including Holder, Joseph, Keemo Paul and Akeal Hossein were the wicket-taking ones. Overall, they are a good side but they need to be careful about the spin department. One more win will seal the spot in the Super 6.

Head-to-Head Records

There have been 48 matches played between these two sides, West Indies dominated and won 36 matches while Zimbabwe managed to win only 10 matches.

Top Players

We are taking stats of the current tournament of the ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2023.

Team Zimbabwe

Team West Indies

Squads

Team Zimbabwe

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

Team West Indies

Shai Hope(c & wk), Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Johnson Charles, Shamarh Brooks, Nicholas Pooran, Roston Chase, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder, Keemo Paul, Alzarri Joseph, Akeal Hosein, Romario Shepherd, Keacy Carty, Yannic Cariah

Zimbabwe vs West Indies 13th Match Predictions

Zimbabwe

West Indies

Predicted Playing XI

Zimbabwe

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

West Indies

Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Johnson Charles, Shai Hope(c & wk), Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell,  Akeal Hosein, Roston Chase, Jason Holder, Keemo Paul, Alzarri Joseph

Fantasy Cricket Team

Based on the stats above, this could be the fantasy playing 11.

Betting Tips

Zimbabwe is doing pretty well but the mighty West Indies should have the upper hand in this contest following their head-to-head stats. We pick West Indies as the winner of this game. 

Conclusion

Both Zimbabwe and West Indies are on a winning note and quite confident too but West Indies is a strong opponent and the past records show that West Indies has dominated the contest. Can they win this match easily or Zimbabwe might turn things around? Stay in touch with different cricket sportsbooks to stay up-to-date with the live odds.