Zimbabwe vs New Zealand, ZIM vs NZ , Today Match Prediction
Zimbabwe vs New Zealand, ZIM vs NZ , Today Match Prediction
πππππ :Β Zimbabwe vs New Zealand
ππππ :August 07,Thursday
ππππ :13:30 PM (IST)
πππππ : Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
ππππππππππ : 2nd Test , 2025
New Zealand look to make it 19 Tests without defeat against Zimbabwe!
- New Zealand are targeting a third successive Test win.
- Zimbabwe have been beaten by an innings, 328 runs or nine wickets across their last five Tests.
- New Zealand have won their last four away Tests.
ZIM vs NZ Match Prediction & Analysis
Very few cricket followers were surprised to see a one-sided Test in Bulawayo last week and many are expecting to see the same again this time when the Chevrons host the Black Caps for the second and final time in this series.
New Zealand easily won by nine wickets in a Test which lasted less than three full days but the margin of victory could and probably should have been even bigger.
Zimbabwe know they are capable of better performances than seen last week but it remains to be seen if they will be able to do so against such a disciplined outfit as New Zealand.
That said, the Black Caps are without Nathan Smith and could also be missing captain Tom Lathan alongside Will O’Rourke which may give Zimbabwe a small chance of success.
TEAMS PREVIEW
Zimbabwe Preview
All eyes will be on Sean Williams to produce something special with the bat in this Test after he was unable to even make a half-century in last week’s game in Bulawayo!
As a result, it was left to skipper Craig Ervine to top score in the first innings with useful contributions from Nick Welch and Tafadzwa Tsiga but Zimbabwe’s total of 149 was always going to end in defeat.
They must find a way to play the accurate and skilled bowling of Matt Henry but many better batters have tried and failed to do so over the last 18 months across all formats.
Blessing Muzarabani and Tanaka Chivanga both showed ability and fight in the first Test with the ball and Ervine will need more of the same if his side are to be competitive.
New Zealand Preview
It is one of life’s never-ending mysteries as to how a small country like New Zealand is able to consistently put out squads and XIs in international cricket, often with plenty of star names missing, and yet still dominate the opposition!
Not that there is a great surprise to see the Black Caps beating Zimbabwe again but no matter who is unavailable they always seem able to replace quality with more quality and sometimes with a point to prove.
Nathan Smith misses out due to an abdominal injury and it remains to be seen if Will Foulkes will take his place or Ben Lister.
But whoever plays, we can expect a disciplined performance with the bat as there are too many quality batters in the line-up.
It was Daryl Mitchell who top scored last time but all of the top six are potential individual match-winners.
With the ball, Matt Henry was too good throughout the last Test and is likely to be so again.
Weather Conditions
It may be slightly chilly at the toss but we can expect the sun to burn through as the day progresses with a top temperature of 23 degrees and no clouds in the forecast.
ZIM vs NZ Pitch Report
This pitch was by no means a minefield last week but did seem to be a hard one to start an innings on. Therefore any team total of over 350 will be impressive but anything under 200 will soon be defeated.
Toss: To Bat
There may be some assistance for the bowlers first up on Thursday but we expect both teams to elect to bat first and to try and put the opposition under pressure with runs on the board.
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