Ryan Burl insists Zimbabwe still fancy their chances against India, despite last-week’s bruising loss to West Indies. Speaking on the eve of Thursday’s Super Eight meeting in Chennai, the all-rounder pointed to a bowling group that covers almost every base.
“We’ve obviously got a lot of options and that’s probably one of the advantages of the Zimbabwe line-up,” Burl said. “So, we do have quite a lot of depth and I think it will probably just come down to what are the match-ups depending on the batters that are out there at the time and obviously the combinations that we do look to go for.”
Key facts first. Richard Ngarava has recovered from the niggle that kept him out in Mumbai, giving Zimbabwe a trio of fast bowlers all clearing 6ft 4in. Blessing Muzarabani, the tallest at 6ft 9in, is the spearhead with 11 wickets from four matches – second only to USA’s Shadley van Schalkwyk in the tournament rankings. Behind the quicks sit four contrasting spinners: Graeme Cremer’s leg-breaks, Sikandar Raza’s off-spin and carrom balls, Wellington Masakadza’s left-arm orthodox and Burl’s own part-time wrist-spin.
Conditions in Chennai usually favour slow bowling, yet the black-soil surface often offers early bounce. India’s top order features two left-handers, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan, meaning Masakadza might remain a tactical option rather than an automatic pick, while Raza could take the new ball. The all-rounder trained without strapping on Wednesday after jarring a finger attempting a return catch against West Indies and has been cleared to play.
Analysis without jargon: Zimbabwe’s plan is simple enough. Use height and bounce up front, then vary pace and angle once the ball softens. Muzarabani, who releases from almost 2.5 metres, gives them that opening thrust. His figures at Wankhede – 2 for 42 amid a total of 254 – did not flatter him, but the steep lift unsettled Nicholas Pooran and Sherfane Rutherford for a spell.
“I mean being 6 foot 9 [inches] does help,” Burl smiled, before stressing just how significant Muzarabani’s comeback from a back stress injury has been. “I have to give a lot more credit to Blessing than he has received because he’s been out for about four to six months prior to this tournament. He obviously had a lot of doubts coming in with his own body and how he was feeling and stuff like that. The success that he has had with the ball has been amazing.”
Burl added: “It’s not something that has only just come about now. He has been doing this in international cricket previously. He’s obviously someone that we’re really happy having in our squad. He’s one of those bowlers that’s obviously 6’9″, and he does kind of come a little bit from beyond the perpendicular. So, jagging the ball back into the righties and across the lefties with that steep bounce does propose quite a lot of a challenge for the batters. So, I’m a lot happier knowing that he’s on my team and not on the opposition (laughs).”
Exposure to stronger sides has helped Zimbabwe sharpen those plans. They toured Pakistan in April, hosted Australia in May and have already faced England and West Indies in this World Cup. As Burl put it, the learning curve has been steep but valuable. India at Chepauk is another rung on that ladder: formidable, yes, yet an opportunity as well.
Zimbabwe are expected to name their XI after Thursday’s pitch inspection. Whatever the final combination, the theme is variety – seamers tall enough to bang it in, spinners quick enough to fire it through, and a side still believing an upset is within reach.
