Ervine, Williams tons thump Nepal in match opener
Zimbabwe 291 for two (Ervine 121*, Williams 102*, Kami 1-30) beat Nepal 290 for 8 (Bhurtel 99, Sheikh 66, Ngarava 4-43) by eight wickets
An unbroken 164-run partnership between Craig Ervine and Sean Williams noticed Zimbabwe canter to an eight-wicket victory in opposition to Nepal to open their World Cup Qualifier marketing campaign. At a packed Harare Sports Club, Ervine performed a captain’s knock to make sure Nepal’s 290 for 8 by no means seemed overwhelming for his aspect, his fourth ODI hundred the spotlight of an excellent Zimbabwean batting efficiency. Williams went one higher, scoring Zimbabwe’s fastest-ever hundred to assist the aspect wrap up the sport with practically six overs to spare.
Zimbabwe began brightly of their pursuit, with Joylord Gumbie benefiting from the powerplay to strike early boundaries and get the aspect off to a punchy begin. After Sompal Kami trapped him in entrance, Wesley Madhevere and Ervine continued in the identical vein. Zimbabwe had been notably adept at rotating the strike, and fast to punish the free deliveries. With Nepal’s assault ill-equipped to threaten, particularly on a floor as docile as this, the house aspect had the expertise of understanding the sport was theirs to lose.
That expertise proved particularly salient when Williams joined his fellow outdated hand Ervine on the crease. Madhevere had been finished in by the brief ball, however these two left-handers had been completely geared up to deal with Nepal’s spin. Crucially, they went about neutering Sandeep Lamichhane from the very first over, getting on prime of his variations and punishing him each time he erred in line and size.
In the tip, the one individual discombobulated by Lamichhane’s selection was the bowler himself as he struggled for rhythm. Zimbabwe ensured he registered his second-most costly figures in ODI cricket, 10-0-77-0, and was wicketless simply the third in his profession.
Williams was instrumental in taking stress off his captain, glad to tackle the function of the aggressor. This mirrored within the velocity with which he introduced up his thirty fourth half-century, taking simply 41 balls. By then, the asking charge had been tamed, introduced down properly beneath six. Soon after a caress by way of the covers introduced up Ervine’s hundred, and as cries of “captain” broke out from the Harare crowd, their chief saluted them again.
Ervine took 111 balls for his hundred, and Williams would not be content material with only a half-century both. He continued accelerating as Zimbabwe turned the chase right into a formality, and the one impediment to his century was that Zimbabwe had been operating out of runs to chase. But with 5 runs required, he slashed Gulshan Jha to the large long-off boundary to degree the scores. His hundred got here in simply 70 balls, and the Castle Corner was solely too glad to get on its ft once more.
Nepal had begun a lot brighter than they ended, a sensational 171-run opening stand between Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh offering the dream platform on a placid pitch to go and push forward previous 300. But when Bhurtel, whose stroke-making all day had been elegant, was cruelly cleaned up by Wellington Masakadza on 99, Nepal’s day turned. Sheikh fell quickly after, and Zimbabwe’s fingerspinners despatched them again into rebuilding mode.
There had been cameos, particularly from Kushal Malla and captain Rohit Paudel, however Richard Ngarava seared by way of the center order with 4 wickets, and the innings started to peter out. The final 5 overs noticed simply 32 runs scored, and when the gamers went in for lunch, the sense was that Nepal had properly and really misplaced momentum.
In the tip, with Williams and Ervine in that sort of kind, none of it may need mattered in any case. As the gamers indulged in a lap of honour to thank a crowd that had stayed again to have fun, this present day in Harare really belonged to Zimbabwe.