Botswana vs Malawi, 7th Place Play-off 2025: Preview, Date, Time, Venue, Analysis, History & Predictions

Botswana vs Malawi meet in the 7th Place Play-off of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Regional Final 2025.

For both Associate teams, this fixture is about pride, gaining ranking points, and giving their core players valuable tournament minutes before the next qualification cycle.

Expect intent from ball one, creative match-ups, and a few calculated risks in the middle overs.

Read more- Match Predictions

Botswana vs Malawi Match Details: Date, Time, Venue

• Date: Saturday, 4 October 2025
• Time: 09:30 AM CAT (Harare) | 01:00 PM IST
• Venue: Takashinga Sports Club, Harare (Zimbabwe)

Takashinga is a true cricketing cauldron—generally fair to both bat and ball.

Early seam movement is common, but the surface often quickens up and rewards clean hitting later on. Spinners and cutters into the pitch tend to come into play after the power play.

Quick Context & Stakes

• This is a classification match to determine 7th place at the regional final.
• Botswana and Malawi arrive here after tough group campaigns, making this a chance to end the tournament on a positive note, settle selection debates, and test finishing skills under pressure.

Botswana vs Malawi: Form Guide & Tactical Snapshot

Botswana — What’s working

• Spin variety: With wrist-spin and finger-spin options, Botswana can control overs 7–15 and hunt wickets with attacking fields.
• All-round utility: Several batters bowl a couple of overs, which helps cover a bad day for a frontline bowler.
  Concerns: Powerplay batting has been inconsistent. Protecting wickets in the first six overs is key; a 45–50 powerplay without losing 3+ wickets sets their game up.

Malawi — What’s working

• Experienced core: A stable spine with multi-skill cricketers who can shift roles (anchor vs. enforcer) depending on match situation.
• Change-ups with the ball: Hit-the-deck pace and slower-ball variations are effective at Takashinga, especially at the longer boundary.
  Concerns: Death overs have leaked at times. Clear yorker plans and boundary riders at the right angles will matter in overs 17–20.

Also read- Sri Lanka Women vs Australia Women 5th Match, WWC 2025: Preview & Prediction

Pitch & Conditions

• Pitch: Typically a par score around 145–160 if the sun bakes the surface; 130–140 if there’s early grip and movement.
• Toss: Bat first is slightly safer if conditions are dry; runs on the board plus spin through the middle overs has been a winning template. If there’s morning moisture, bowling first to exploit movement is tempting.

Botswana vs Malawi: Head-to-Head & History (T20I/Regional)

• Botswana and Malawi have met sporadically at African regional events. Meetings are often tight, with momentum swinging around middle-overs spin and lower-order hitting.
• Malawi’s experienced seamers have previously tilted close games; Botswana’s leg-spin threat is the counter.

Key Match-ups

• Botswana top-order vs. Malawi new-ball seam: If Botswana see off the first 3–4 overs with minimal damage, their middle order can cash in.
• Malawi finishers vs. Botswana wrist-spin: The ability to rotate and occasionally clear the rope against spin will define Malawi’s finishing total.

Probable Playing XIs (T20I)

Botswana Probable XI

1. Karabo Motlhanka (c) — right-hand bat
2. Monroux Kasselman (wk) — keeper-batter
3. Vinoo Balakrishnan — batting all-rounder
4. Tharindu Perera — middle-order bat
5. Thatayaone Tshose — seam-bowling all-rounder
6. Dhruvkumar Maisuria — leg-spin strike bowler
7. Karabo Modise — pace
8. Katlo Piet — seam
9. Jack Benjamin Richards — bat/seam
10. Botlhe Keganne — spin option
11. Boemo Kgosiemang — pace

Malawi Probable XI

1. Aaftab Limdawala — top-order bat
2. Sami Sohail — batting all-rounder
3. Gift Kansonkho — anchor
4. Moazzam Baig (c) — middle-order bat
5. Salim Nihute (wk) — keeper-batter
6. Bright Balala — finisher
7. Kazim Somani — middle-order
8. Daniel Jakiel — right-arm quick
9. Kelvin Thuchila — seam
10. Suhail Zahid Vayani — spin
11. Chisomo Chete / Trust Makaya — bowling option (match-ups)

XIs are projected from official squad lists and recent usage patterns at this event.

Players to Watch

• Botswana: Dhruvkumar Maisuria — wicket-taking leg-spinner who can flip the middle overs.
• Botswana: Karabo Motlhanka — experienced captain; needs to anchor the chase or set up the finish.
• Malawi: Daniel Jakiel — heavy-length pace and change-ups can dent the top-order.
• Malawi: Sami Sohail — multi-skill option who balances the XI.

Analytics Corner

• Powerplay target: 42–48/1 for either side is a platform; sub-35/3 drags the run rate down to par 130.
• Middle-overs key (7–15): Winning this phase by +15 runs (or +2 wickets) often decides Associate T20Is.
• Death overs (16–20): On a truer Takashinga surface, 40–45 in the last five is attainable with wickets in hand.

Botswana vs Malawi: Match Prediction

On recent balance, this is near 50–50. Malawi’s new-ball discipline gives them a narrow edge if they bowl first. If Botswana bat first and post 150+, their spin attack makes them slight favorites.

Lean: Malawi by a whisker if chasing under 145; Botswana edge if defending 150+ with two spinner overs saved for 17–19.

Frequently Asked Questions