By Patrick Kidd
What is going right with Zimbabwe cricket at the moment? In the past week and a half they have beaten India twice in one-day internationals and yesterday beat Sri Lanka in their tri-series match in Harare. Tomorrow they will play Sri Lanka in the final with India on the plane home.
These have been pretty convincing wins for Zimbabwe, too. In the first, they chased 286 to beat India and did it at the start of the penultimate over with six wickets in hand. In the second, they thumped India by seven wickets with almost 12 overs unspent. Yesterday, they beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets with more than two overs left.
The only game they have lost in this tournament was a match with Sri Lanka that was reduced to 26 overs a side. Who says the lottery of a short game favours the minnows? Over the full 50 overs Zimbabwe seem very impressive.
Some of the superstars are missing for India and Sri Lanka, to be fair. No Sangakkara, Jayawardene or Murali, no Tendulkar, Harbhajan or Sehwag. But an Indian top seven of Karthik, Vijay, Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Raina, Jadeja and Yusuf Pathan has plenty of firepower, as does a Sri Lanka XI that includes Tharanga, Dilshan, Kapugedera and Samaraweera.
The bowling for both sides has been a bit skimpy, though, especially for India, but this is a long way from the West Indies third XI that Bangladesh beat last summer. Zimbabwe seem to be on a bit of roll here. Having been a whipping boy for so long, even providing Bangladesh with regular victories, it is good to see them getting their act together. Cricket Central
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