Online Reporter
Eddie Chikamhi-Zimpapers Sport Hub
AUSTRALIA produced a batting masterclass anchored on a fluent century by Travis Head to claim an 84-run victory and wrap up the One Day International series against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club yesterday.
The visitors took an unassailable 2-0 lead following the win, which renders the last game tomorrow at the same venue a dead rubber.
Facing a must-win game after losing the opening encounter by 59 runs to the world champions earlier this week, Zimbabwe won the toss yesterday and chose to bowl first.
However, the decision came back to haunt them as they could not keep up with the aggression of the Australian batters, who ended up stockpiling a mammoth 356/6 in their 50 overs.
Under the circumstances, the chase was always going to be daunting because of the scoreboard pressure.
The home team could only manage 272 in 48.2 overs, with no particular batsman really taking charge against the determined Aussie bowlers.
Australia were dominant all-round, recording their highest ODI score against Zimbabwe and then bowling out the hosts for the second time in as many matches.
The 356/6 was Australia’s highest ODI total against Zimbabwe, bettering the 350/6 they posted on their last visit to the African nation back in 2014.
It was also the seventh time that Australia scored 300-plus against Zimbabwe in 34 ODI meetings.
Apart from Head’s century, there were also half tons from Mitchell Marsh (53), Cooper Connelly (78) and a feisty 41 from 18 balls by Oliver Peake.
Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza admitted Australia dominated the match and made life difficult for his team.
“Credit to Travis and Mitch Marsh. They gave them a good start and that’s how they put us under pressure.
“But in-between, the boys tried but other than that I also think it was their skills that even some of our good balls went for boundaries,” said Raza.
He also acknowledged the target was a bit daunting for his team.
“It was a good wicket but I thought 350 was a bit too much. I thought 300 – 310 would have been a defendable sort of, or a chaseable total on that wicket.
“But once you go in after 350 as well, then to end up with 272, it can happen. But 300 – 310 might be a bit of a different story,” said Raza.
After being sent in to bat first, the Australian openers laid a strong platform yesterday before the middle came in and kept the momentum going.
Man of the Match, Head, and stand in captain Marsh combined for an opening wicket partnership of 130 runs, facing just under 19 overs. The pair got the innings off to a flyer, racing to 78 runs in the first Powerplay as Zimbabwean bowlers struggled to get the breakthrough.
Finally, spinner Wellington Masakadza brought the party to an end when he bowled out Marsh in the 19th over.
But Head carried on, finding good support from Cooper Connolly as the pair added 60 runs for the second wicket. Head went on to smash a superb hundred, composing of 15 fours and three sixes. He faced 84 balls for his 118 runs before he was removed by Wessly Madhevere.
Connolly continued with the onslaught and was involved in valuable stands with Josh Inglis (21) and Alex Carey (20) before settling for his second fifty of the series.
The 23-year-old left hander was the second highest run scorer for Australia yesterday with his 78 runs coming off three fours and as many sixes.
Peake’s fiery 41 off just 18 balls allowed Australia to push their score beyond 350 runs. He scored three sixes in the final over bowled by Brad Evans, which yielded 24 runs.
Nonetheless Evans was the pick of the Zimbabwean bowlers with three wickets to his name, while Masakadza finished with two and Madhevere one.
The chase was always going to be difficult for Zimbabwe because of the scoreboard pressure, which demanded just above seven an over from the first ball.
Most of Zimbabwe’s batters made good starts but failed to convert into big scores. Stand-in captain Raza was the highest scorer with 45 runs.
Opener Ben Curran (30), Innocent Kaia (34), Craig Ervine (38) and Brendan Taylor (39) were dismissed in their thirties while Madhevere made a blistering cameo with his 26 runs from 13 balls.
But the Australian bowlers squeezed the life out of the hosts, with two wickets each for Josh Hazzelwood, Adam Zampa, Matt Renshaw and Connelly.
“We thought it was a complete performance from the boys. The way Travis batted gave us a platform for the middle order. It was great to see Cooper Connolly and Peakey play roles like that and then obviously we had Billy Stanlake go down and our part timers and allrounders really stepped up in those conditions,” said Australia skipper Marsh.
