Series win: Williamson, bowlers see New Zealand safely through

Kiwis down defiant Zimbabwe by 38 runs in third ODI.


Afp August 07, 2015
The two teams will meet again at Harare Sports Club on Sunday for a one-off T20I. PHOTO: AFP

HARARE: Captain Kane Williamson’s steady knock and an assured performance from the New Zealand bowlers saw the tourists secure a 38-run victory in Friday’s third ODI against Zimbabwe and wrap up a 2-1 series win.

Williamson recorded his sixth straight score of 50 or more as his 90 guided New Zealand to 273-6, and although Zimbabwe’s opening stand gave the World Cup finalists a scare, the bowlers held their nerve to restrict the hosts to 235 all out.



New Zealand therefore completed a come-from-behind series victory, having lost the first ODI by seven wickets.

“It certainly wasn’t easy today, so the way that the boys stuck in it and put up a competitive total was a really good effort,” said Williamson, who was named man of the match and man of the series. “We thought it was a very good total until Zimbabwe came out and played the way they did and put us under a lot of pressure, but full credit to our boys for learning from that first game and pulling it back nicely.”

Zimbabwe were on track to chase down the target when Hamilton Masakadza and Chamu Chibhabha put on 97 for the first wicket.

It required a timely intervention from Mitchell McClenaghan to pull things back as he bowled Chibhabha for 32, before Masakadza struck a short ball from Williamson straight to deep midwicket and departed for 57.

A budding partnership between Craig Ervine and Sean Williams was then snaffled out by Ben Wheeler’s sharp fielding off his own bowling, and although Williams went on to hit 63, McClenaghan returned to grab two more wickets and finish with figures of 3 for 36 as New Zealand won comfortably enough. 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 8th,  2015.

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