Harare Sports Club pitch report: Zimbabwe are set to play their first bilateral T20I series after qualifying for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
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It was just over a week ago, when Zimbabwe, along with Netherlands had qualified for the imminent ICC T20 World Cup in Australia, by defeating Papua New Guinea by 27 runs in the semi-final.
Bangladesh, on the other hand, have arrived after suffering a 0-2 defeat in the three-match T2oI series against West Indies a few days ago. Moreover, they will be without the presence of some of their veteran players in Tamim Iqbal, who has retired from the format, Shakib-al-Hasan, wicket-keeper batter Mushfiqur Rahim, and Mahmadullah, with Narul Hasan Sohan set to lead the side.
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The above development might well act as a huge blow to the team, which has struggled in T20Is this year, having not won a series since the T20 World Cup last year.
As for Zimbabwe, they would be led by the experienced Craig Ervine, with their eyes set on the best possible preparations for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
The Harare Sports Club last hosted Afghanistan in June this year during a three-match T20I series which the hosts lost 0-3.
Harare Sports Club pitch report
The average score across 32 T20Is at the Harare Sports Club so far is 153. The relatively bigger boundaries at this venue has further meant that the batters have tended to sweat it out while scoring runs here.
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The pacers do get the desired purchase in the form of seam and bounce with the new ball, especially during the first innings, as the pitch tends to ease out for the batters as the match progresses.
This is the same ground where Aaron Finch had, in 2018, smashed 172 runs off 76 deliveries, which still remains the highest individual score in the format history. Thus, the batters tend to feel easy after spending some time on the pitch at this venue.
Teams chasing in Harare have won mere 11 of the 32 T20Is. Thus, one can expect the captain winning the Toss to bat first.
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