Zimbabwe will be looking to make a winning return to the ICC Men’s T20 World when they face Oman in their opening Group B game at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo on Monday.
The Southern African side missed out on the previous global showpiece in the West Indies and USA after crushing out in the qualifiers.
And this time they will be looking to make it to the Super 8 Stage.
With a clean bill of health, the full member nation will be hoping to dominate Oman, who are the lowest ranked side in the Group.
With Australia, Ireland and hosts Sri Lanka in the same group, the match against Oman seems the easier of the encounters.
However, T20 is unpredictable as over the years top ranked sides have been shocked by teams deemed underdogs.
Interestingly, Oman managed to beat Zimbabwe by four wickets when the two nations clashed in a warm up match at the same venue on Thursday.
Zimbabwe Head Coach Justin Sammons admits the Oman game will not be a walk in the park.
“They’re a very good side, they’re very dangerous, they’ve got some really good players there,” he said.
“A lot of experience as well. They give a bit of everything, have all the different angles covered – left-arm seam, right-arm seam, left-arm orthodox – so they’ve got a lot of bases covered in terms of their bowling attack.
Zimbabwe is led by in form, veteran all-rounder Sikandar Raza, with former captain Brendan Taylor also providing experience.
The pace attack includes world class fast bowlers Blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava while Graeme Cremer and Wellington Masakadza provide spin options.
With promising youngsters such as redhot Brian Bennett, Tinotenda Maposa and Tadiwanashe Marumani in the squad, Sammons is pleased with their inclusion.
“I’m very happy with the fact that we’ve got a lot of younger guys in the squad,” he said.
“You look at Brian Bennett and how he’s played in the last 18 months – he’s been superb. He’s only 22 years old, so it’s crazy to think that you’ve got a young Marumani and a young Maposa.”
After Oman, Zimbabwe battle giants Australia at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on 13 February, play Ireland at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy on 17 February and conclude the Group stage fixtures against hosts Sri Lanka back at the R. Premadasa Stadium on 19 February.
The top two teams in each of the four Groups will qualify for the Super 8 Stage of the competition.
