Former World Champions Sri Lanka will take on UAE in the first Group B clash of the ongoing 12th edition of Cricket World Cup Qualifier, at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Monday (July 19).
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No points for guessing, it would be Sri Lanka who will start as favourites to win the contest. The Dasun Shanaka-led side has arrived in Zimbabwe after registering a 2-1 home ODI series victory against Afghanistan (who’ve already qualified for the World Cup).
UAE, on the other hand, have arrived after suffering an ODI series whitewash (0-3) against the West Indies a couple of weeks ago. They had finished sixth in the Cricket World Cup League 2 competition (2019-2023), and could only qualify for the ongoing Qualifier after finishing second in the Qualifier playoff this year, behind USA.
A lot will rely on the experienced names in their skipper Muhammad Waseem, Rohan Mustafa, Vriitya Aravind, Sanchit Sharma et al to stand a chance against the challenging Sri Lankan side.
Queens Sports Club Pitch Report For SL vs UAE
The Queens Sports Club pitch in Bulawayo has usually been pretty flat, helping the batters play their shots through the line. The last completed ODI at this venue had taken place way back in July 2018, and Pakistan had went on to post 364 runs on the board after batting first.
Spinners come into play quite later into the game during the Test matches. Thus, it is highly unlikely that the nature of the pitch would change significantly as the match approaches, considering the fresh, new pitch on which the contest will be played at.
The average score across the 81 complete ODIs in Bulawayo has been 249 runs, as the slower bowlers keep the run-flow under check especially during the middle-overs. However, they might be rendered largely ineffective tomorrow considering the freshness of the pitch.
Although teams batting first have won most matches at this venue while chasing (45 of 81), expect the team winning the Toss to post a huge total after opting to bat first.
