Harare Sports Club pitch report: The SportsRush brings you the pitch report of the 1st ODI between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.
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Zimbabwe will take on Bangladesh in the 1st ODI of the 3-match ODI series at the Harare Sports Club in Harare. After an exciting T20I series, the focus now shifts to the 50-over format.
Bangladesh will welcome their senior players like Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim, etc in this series, which will make their side a lot stronger in the ODIs. After losing the T20Is, the Bangla tigers would love to script a comeback in the series.
Zimbabwe played brilliantly in the T20Is, and they would want to continue their domination. Sikandar Raza has been in brilliant form for the hosts, whereas the bowling department is also doing the job properly.
Harare Sports Club pitch report
The pitch at the Harare Sports Club has been a competitive track, where there is help for both batters and the bowlers. However, it has been seen lately that the bowlers have dominated the batters on this very track.
In the initial overs of the match, the pacers are able to swing the ball clearly, and the initial overs will be really tough for the batters if the bowlers can get their length right. The bigger boundaries of this stadium come in handy for the spinners in the middle-overs, when the ball starts gripping.
First T20I series win for 🇿🇼 over @BCBtigers 👏
Match summary 👇 pic.twitter.com/WPX9VGM4sR
— Zimbabwe Cricket (@ZimCricketv) August 2, 2022
However, with all being said, if the batters survive the initial demons, they can play score runs. There is an even bounce on the wicket, and the batters can get rewards for their shots after getting set. The outfield of the ground is quite fast as well, and once placed in the gap, the ball will travel on this venue.
The average 1st innings ODI score at this venue is just 233 runs which suggest that batting has been tough here. The last ODI at this ground was played between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan in June 2022, where Afghanistan could just score 135 runs in the first innings, and Zimbabwe won by 4 wickets.