HARARE: Captain Elton Chigumbura said he fought till the end to ensure that Zimbabwe secured a shock three-wicket win over Australia in the Triangular Series on Sunday.
Zimbabwe’s only previous success against the world’s top-ranked 50-over side came in their very first meeting in Nottingham in 1983 and since then have endured 27 defeats and one abandoned match.
“I had to be there till the end,” said Chigumbura according to ESPNcricinfo. “The most important thing was to stay calm. The guys worked very hard for this and supporters were behind us throughout.
“Today [Sunday] we showed some improvement. We just have to keep working. Hopefully, we will have another good game on Thursday.”
After Australia elected to bat, the tourists were restricted to 209-9 in their 50 overs, a target Zimbabwe chased down with two overs to spare.
Chigumbura came to the wicket with his side floundering on 106-5 at the halfway point of their innings, and alongside number nine Prosper Utseya (30 not out), he added 55 in an unbeaten eighth wicket partnership.
The Zimbabwe skipper was unbeaten on 52 from 68 balls and provided the anchor for the win. Utseya scored the winning runs by belting a six off Mitchell Starc that prompted a field invasion by jubilant fans who had never seen a day like it at the Harare Sports Club.
Adding to Australia’s misery, skipper Michael Clarke had to battle through the pain barrier to score an unbeaten 68.
“We definitely did not score enough runs,” said Clarke. “But credit to Zimbabwe, they bowled well and batted well.”
Published in The Express Tribune, September 1st, 2014.
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