adminmade this game a match at Harare Sports Club yesterday.
Following a 10-wicket defeat to the Black Caps in the tour opener, Zimbabwe struggled with the ball but showed great character with the bat and lost by 34 runs.
Chamu “Tsano” Chibhabha’s 65 off 39 balls, a career best in this format of the game, could not take Zimbabwe through.
Zimbabwe were all out for 154, with seven balls remaining, giving New Zealand victory in a match reduced to 18-overs-a-side after rains fell in the capital. Chibhabha’s 57-run partnership with Elton Chigumbura (39 off 22) had given Zimbabwe hope but New Zealand’s target of 187-3 proved too big for the hosts to chase down. The New Zealand opening partnership of batsmen Brendon McCullum (64) and Martin Guptill (67 off 46) put on 120 for the first wicket and caused most of the damage after Zimbabwe had won the toss and sent them in to bat. Nathan McCullum took three big wickets. Yet the story could have been different had
Brendon been given what looked a plump lbw decision, before he had reached double figures, after being beaten by Kyle Jarvis.
And Zimbabwe will also look back at their poor show in the field and with the ball, conceding 18 extras, including nine wides and three no-balls. The spin attack of former captain Prosper Utseya and Ray Price failed to get their lengths correctly leaving Utseya to gift McCullum with two sixes to draw closer to his half century in the ninth over.
Scorecard
New Zealand Innings
(match reduced to 18 overs a side)
McCullum b Jarvis 64
Guptill c Chibhabha b Jarvis 67
Ryder not out 30
Taylor run out (Coventry) 8
Extras (lb6, nb3, w9) 18
Total 187
F-o-W: 1-120 (McCullum), 2-172 (Guptill), 3-187 (Taylor)
Bowling: Mpofu 4-0-40-0 (3w), Jarvis 4-0-36-2 (2nb), Price 4-0-34-0 (1w), Chigumbura 2-0-17-0 (1w), Utseya 3-0-45-0 (1nb), Chibhabha 1-0-9-0
Did not bat: R. Nichol, J. Franklin, N. McCullum, J. Oram, D. Bracewell, G. Aldridge, L. Woodcock.
Zimbabwe Innings
Masakadza c B. McCullum b Bracewell 9
Chibhabha st B. McCullum b N. McCullum 65
Taylor b Aldridge 1
Chigumbura c and b N. McCullum 39
Coventry c and b N. McCullum 0
Mutizwa run out (Oram) 22
Waller c Taylor b Oram 12
Utseya not out 2
Price run out (Nicol) 0
Jarvis c B. McCullum b Bracewell 0
Mpofu c Aldridge b Bracewell 0
Extras (lb3, w1) 4
Total (16.5 overs) 154
F-o-W: 1-24 (Masakadza), 2-27 (Taylor), 3-84 (Chigumbura), 4-84 (Coventry), 5-125 (Chibhabha), 6-149 (Waller), 7-154 (Mutizwa) 8-154 (Price), 9-154 (Mpofu)
Bowling: Bracewell 3.5-0-25-3, Aldridge 4-0-45-1, Oram 3-0-27-1 (w1), Woodcock 2-0-20-0, N. McCullum 3-0-23-3, Nicol 1-0-11-0.
Online Reporter
Sidumisile Mabena