Right-arm seamer Matt Henry’s three-wicket haul and opener Devon Conway’s unbeaten fifty helped the New Zealand side to register a comfortable eight-wicket victory over hosts, Zimbabwe, in the third clash of the ongoing T20I tri-series at the Harare Sports Club on Friday.
With this win, New Zealand moved to the top of the points table after winning their second match in a row in the ongoing series. They currently have a net run rate of +1.919, whereas Zimbabwe are at last with a net run rate of -2.374 after losing both of their games in the T20I series.
Chasing a mere total of 121 runs to win the encounter, the Kiwis’ batters Tim Siefert and Devon Conway came out to bat in the middle.
The Blackcaps didn’t have the start they wanted, as they lost their first wicket at 5, with Siefert sent back to the pavilion after scoring 3(5). The wicketkeeper-batter was dismissed by a right-arm seamer, Blessing Muzarabani, in the second over.
After the opener’s dismissal, left-hand batter Rachin Ravindra came to bat. The visitors touched the 50-run mark on the third ball of the seventh over as Conway took a single.
In the ninth over, the Mitchell Santner-led side lost their second wicket as Ravindra was sent back to the dressing room after scoring 30(19), which came with the help of four boundaries and one six in his innings. He was dismissed by pacer Tinotenda Maposa.
Following the southpaw’s departure, right-hand batter Daryl Mitchell came out to the crease.
In the 12th over, Conway completed his half-century as he slammed a maximum on the bowling of off-spinner Sikandar Raza. On the first ball of the 13th over, which was bowled by Muzarabani, Conway took a single and brought up the team’s hundred.
In the 14th over, New Zealand completed the chase with eight wickets in hand and 37 balls left in the game. At the end, Conway 59*(40) and Mitchell 26*(19) remained unbeaten on the crease.
Conway was awarded the Player of the Match for his brilliant innings of 59* runs from 40 balls, which was laced with four boundaries and two maximums in his innings.
For Zimbabwe, one wicket each was snapped by Muzarabani (1/27 in 4 overs) and Maposa (1/17 in 2 overs) in their respective bowling spells in the fixture.
Earlier in the match, the Kiwis’ captain, Mitchell Santner, won the toss and asked the hosts to bat first.
Batting first, the Sikandar Raza-led side were able to score just 120 runs after losing seven wickets in 20 overs. The run-getters in this innings were Wessly Madhevere (36 runs off 32 balls), Brian Bennett (21 runs from 20 balls), Tony Munyonga (13 runs in 18 balls), Ryan Burl (12 runs off 9 balls), and Sikandar Raza (12 runs from 18 balls).
For New Zealand, three wickets were grabbed by Matt Henry (3/26 in 4 overs), and one wicket each was bagged by Adam Milne (1/30 in 4 overs), Mitchell Santner (1/18 in 4 overs), Michael Bracewell (1/15 in 2 overs), and Rachin Ravindra (1/10 in 3 overs) in their respective spels in the first innings.
Brief Score: Zimbabwe 120/7 in 20 overs (Wessly Madhevere 36, Brian Bennett 21; Matt Henry 3/26) vs New Zealand 122/2 in 13.5 overs (Devon Conway 59*, Rachin Ravindra 30; Tinotenda Maposa 1/17).
