Zimbabwe host Sri Lanka at Harare in the first match of the 3rd Round, an important game for both teams who have struggled for points so far.
Sri Lanka will be favourites by virtue of their strong batting lineup, having played much better in their 2nd game.
Zimbabwe were substandard against Australia, and rely on a couple of class batsmen, lacking an obvious leader in their bowling attack.
Pitch: 24 - Preparation of this strip was interrupted by a rain storm that flooded the ground just seven days ago. There has been no rain since and the pitch looks dry and easy paced, A question mark must hang over its wearing qualities from its time under water and the bowlers, especially the spinners, may come into their own later in the match. This pitch is a bit of an unknown quantity, difficult to read, so some skippers may hope they call incorrectly!
Day 1 Conditions:
Pitch: 2A - Dry and Grassless
Weather: 3 - Sunny, some cloud about
Zimbabwe lineup:
K.J.Arnott, G.W.Flower, A.D.R.Campbell, A.J.Pycroft, D.L.Houghton (c), A.Flower (wk), G.J.Crocker, E.A.Branders, M.P.Burmester, A.J.Traicos, M.P.Jarvis
Sri Lanka lineup:
R.S.Mahanama, U.C.Hathurasinghe, A.P.Gurusinha, P.A.de Silva (c), A.Ranatunga, S.T.Jayasuriya, H.P.Tillekeratne (wk), R.J.Ratnayake, S.D.Anurasiri, K.I.W.Wijegunawardena, G.P.Wickremasinghe
Toss: Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka won the toss, and with overhead conditions good and the pitch set to deteriorate and help the spinners late in the match, elected to bat first.
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