Tri-series events are uncommon, but they often attract attention since three teams compete for a trophy instead of just two in a regular series. However, the current tri-series in Zimbabwe hasn’t been very exciting. With two games left before the final, South Africa and New Zealand have already secured their spots, as host team Zimbabwe has lost all three of its matches. Tomorrow’s game between South Africa and New Zealand will only serve as a warm-up for the final on Saturday.

New Zealand has been impressive in the two matches they’ve played so far this season. They won their first match against South Africa with strong performances in both batting and bowling, and easily defeated Zimbabwe in their second game. All their bowlers have taken wickets in this series, and despite a few issues in the top order during their first game, they performed well while chasing 121 runs against Zimbabwe.

South Africa has also outplayed Zimbabwe twice in this series, knocking them out in the process. However, they lost to New Zealand in their first match. Like New Zealand, South Africa's top order hasn’t been very strong, but their middle-order batting has been effective with players like Rubin Hermann stepping up and Dewald Brevis bringing fresh energy to the team. The bowling lineup has been switched around in each game, but it has still provided the right balance for the team.

The fifth match is scheduled to be held on July 22, 2025, at 1:00 PM Local Time (11:00 AM GMT, 4:30 PM IST) at the Harare Sports Club, Harare. 

New Zealand Squad: Mitchell Santner (c), Devon Conway, Tim Seifert (wk), Mark Chapman, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Robinson, Michael Bracewell, Adam Milne, Jacob Duffy, Ish Sodhi, William O'Rourke.

South Africa Squad: Rassie van der Dussen (c), Lhuan-dre Pretorius (wk), Lungi Ngidi, Reeza Hendricks, Dewald Brevis, Senuran Muthusamy, Corbin Bosch, Andile Simelane, Nandre Burger, Nqaba Peter, Kwena Maphaka.