New Zealand decimate ZIM, take series 3-0

In a lop-sided affair at Napier, New Zealand steam rolled Zimbabwe to complete a comprehensive clean sweep in the three match ODI series. The 202-run victory was set up by a well-paced Brendon McCullum century and a bustling 153-run opening stand that powered the hosts to 373. Zimbabwe never were in the fray after the fireworks and mustered only 171 runs before being skittled out with six overs remaining in their innings.

After electing to bat first on a typical McLean Park belter, New Zealand dominated from the word ‘Go’ as their openers put the listless Zimbabwean bowlers to sword. To make matters worse for the visitors, their fielding didn’t show any improvement from the horror show of Whangarei. Their pathetic catching ensured New Zealand batsmen enjoyed multiple lives and piled on a huge score which would even surpass pummeling of the last match.

Both Nicol and Guptill came out firing on all cylinders, belting the ball to all corners of the ground. Not that they slogged mindlessly, but provided a nice little demonstrations of controlled hitting. With Zimbabwean bowlers dishing out boundary balls regularly, runs flowed at a frenetic pace, the score after ten overs read 83.

While Nicol relied on raw power for most of his aggressive strokes, Guptill used the depth of crease as well as precise placement to keep pace with his partner. In their 153-run stand for the first wicket, they hammered seven huge sixes and thirteen boundaries. To Zimbabwe’s relief, Nicol was trapped leg-before by Prosper Utseya for 61 in the 22nd over. Guptill too fell in the next over for 85, stumped on a Ray Price delivery.

Jacob Oram was once again promoted to number three but managed only 25 before inside edging a Kyle Jarvis delivery on to his stumps. Although, the New Zealand scoring rate dipped a bit due to these quick wickets, Brendon McCullum ensured that the score board kept moving.

To begin with, McCullum didn’t try to do anything fancy, just turned over the strike for Kane Williamson to do the same form the other end. But, once they settled down, the big hitting resumed and the hapless Zimbabwean bowlers couldn’t prevent a carnage from taking place.

Williamson started the late charge by slamming Brian Vitori for three boundaries in the 41st over. Although, he didn’t last long after that, Brendon McCullum took charge of the innings. His brother, Nathan provided a helping hand by scoring a quick fire 7-ball 21 which included three successive sixes of Vitori.

After Brendon McCullum brought up his fourth ODI hundred, it was his turn to tear into Vitori, who conceded 105 runs in nine overs, fourth most expensive figures in the format. Eventually, McCullum fell on the last delivery of 50th over for 119, not before blasting his team to a humongous score.

In their reply, Zimbabwe never made an effort to chase down the target. Instead, they tried to bat for as many as overs as possible. Only skipper Brendan Taylor showed some fight with a resilient half-century. Other than that, it was one-way traffic all the way, further bringing to fore the gulf that separates the two sides and the work Zimbabwe have to do before they can compete as equals with the big boys.

After the Zimbabwean openers were dismissed with just 14 runs on the board, Tatenda Taibu and Taylor decided to have some match practice before the T20’s as the target was simply out of reach for their limp batting. They added 67 runs before Michael Bates removed Taibu to claim his first scalp in his debut game. Taylor hit a couple of sixes in his 65-run knock but fell shortly after being involved in a mix-up that resulted in the run-out of Malcolm Waller.

With the lower order offering only a modicum of resistance, Zimbabwe folded in 44 overs for 171.