Zimbabwe beat the West Indies by five runs on the Duckworth-Lewis method in Bulawayo on Friday to book a place in Sunday´s final of the triangular one-day worldwide tournament against Sri Lanka.
West Indies coach Roddy Estwick believes his players have been committing too many unforced errors and has appealed for more discipline. Jonathan Carter (43 not out) and Jason Holder (22 not out) kept the fight going with their unbeaten 31-run stand but when they were 124 for five, heavy rains lashed at Queens Sports Club allowing no further play ensuring a five-run victory for Zimbabwe by DLS method.
It is yet to be seen if Musakanda earns his worldwide debut against West Indies today and who makes way for him. The form of Evin Lewis and Shai Hope has to be an ominous signal for the Zimbabweans, who will be hoping to have both of them back in the dressing room asap.
The West Indies may be the odds on favourite but they appear to be taking nothing for granted when they face Zimbabwe today in a do-or-die clash of the Tri-Nations series, which reaches its peak here on Sunday. Though still ninth in the ICC ODI rankings, they are just one point behind Pakistan, and a strong show in their remaining games will put them within touching distance of Bangladesh at No. 7.
West Indies were 93 for five at that stage. All three teams will have an eye on the weather on Wednesday.
"I think inexperience there is obviously situations where we are not accustomed being in, it's still a relatively young side". The threat of rain also makes the toss important - inclement weather is more likely in the afternoon, meaning there could be Duckworth-Lewis permutations while chasing.
There are two main areas of concern on the outfield, should it rain again - on the northern side of the ground, and also near the sight screen at the Airport End. "We'll see in the next few days". Under the captaincy of Rangana Herath, Sri Lanka registered two big Test wins. The grip on this slow surface makes Dasun Shanaka a good pick.
Playing just his fourth ODI, Lewis yesterday struck a superb 148 but a series of run-outs ultimately hurt the West Indies as they finished on 329 for nine in response to Sri Lanka's 330 for seven.
With Lewis taking little time to get stuck into the Sri Lankan seamers, the West Indies made a similarly brisk start. However, it was later changed to two Tests and tri-series.
The day had started well for the West Indies, with spin duo Devendra Bishoo (3-30) and Ashley Nurse (3-27) ripping through the Zimbabwe batting line-up; five of their victims out bowled.
(SP)
