Zimbabwe’s start
When Prosper Utseya’s team was put into bat, he mentioned 150 as a good score and Zimbabwe went about in achieving that in the first few overs, before a bizarre collapse halted their charge. Tatenda Taibu and Hamilton Masakadza put on 36 for the first wicket in less than five overs before Tim Southee had Taibu caught in the deep. Zimbabwe, unscathed, went on as Masakadza found the boundaries at will, adding 22 for the second wicket with Andy Blignaut. At 58 in the seventh over and looking good, Masakadza fell short of his ground and was run-out — his wicket being the tipping point that sparked the collapse. Two runs later, captain Daniel Vettori bowled Blignaut as Zimbabwe were reduced to 60 for three.
Turning point
Enter Nathan McCullum. In one over, Zimbabwe lost three wickets as Elton Chigumbura, Charles Coventry and Craig Ervine made their way back to the pavilion. McCullum finished with three wickets for 16 runs as Zimbabwe were now reeling at 62 for six; the prospect of even a 100 runs looking bleak.
Styris follows suit
At this point, Zimbabwe were searching for a face-saving total. Enter Scot Styris. He cleaned up the tail, claiming three wickets in his over as Zimbabwe were left wondering what went wrong. Styris had the first one caught by Martin Guptill, the second one bowled and the last trapped lbw to finish with three wickets for five runs. Vettori grabbed the last wicket as Zimbabwe were bundled out for 84 – their lowest ever in Twenty20 internationals and the 12th overall.
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