Matt Renshaw stood up when it mattered the most for Australia as his hundred at a crucial time went a long way in beating Zimbabwe in the first ODI. Matt Renshaw, who came out to bat at 6 when the score was 107/4, played a superb innings while others played around him to help Australia post an above-par 294/8 in 50 overs. Cooper Connolly made 51 while others got starts and could not kick on. Newman Nyamhuri was the pick of the bowlers for Zimbabwe with a 5-wicket haul.
In reply, Nathan Ellis picked up a 5-wicket haul, and others supported him well with one wicket each, while Sikandar Raza and Craig Ervine got fifties each. A few 20s also were scored, but they could not kick on as Australia easily won this match in the end by 59 runs to take a 1-0 lead in this 3-match ODI series.
Matt Renshaw’s superlative ton powers Australia to 294/8 in 50 overs
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Australia captain Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head came out to open the batting, while Blessing Muzarabani had the ball in hand for Zimbabwe. The opening duo added 10 runs for the first wicket before Head fell for 4 off 5 balls, with one boundary, as he chopped the ball onto his stumps off Brad Evans. Cooper Connolly came out to bat next.
Mitchell Marsh started the counter-attack for Australia, and Connolly was supporting him well. Marsh was looking good out there. The duo of Marsh and Connolly added exactly 50 runs for the second wicket before the captain Marsh fell for 36 off 28 balls with 6 fours and one six to his name to Newman Nyamhuri. Keeper batter Josh Inglis came out to bat next.
Inglis and Connolly tried to forge a partnership and added 23 runs for the third wicket before the keeper batter Inglis fell for 4 off 12 balls to that man Nyamhuri again. Alex Carey came out to bat next. Connolly continued his great run and reached his half-century as the duo put on 24 runs for the 4th wicket before Connolly, the set batter, fell for 51 off 46 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes to his name to Sikandar Raza, the Zimbabwe captain, who cleaned him up.
Matt Renshaw came out to bat next. Australia were 107/4 in 17.4 overs. Carey and Renshaw led Australia’s fightback from a tricky situation. Renshaw in particular looked in the zone while Carey gave him good company to bring the Aussies back on track. The left-handed duo added 72 runs for the 5th wicket to stabilise the Aussies before Carey fell for 27 off 53 balls with one four to his name to Evans. Oliver Peake came out to bat next and looked assured in the crease.
Renshaw and Peake forged some sort of a partnership again and a crucial one at that. The duo put on 75 runs at a fair clip to put Australia in a dominant position. They took Australia past 250 before Peake dismissed himself as he went too deep in the crease and stepped onto the stumps for 30 off 40 balls with one four and one six to his name to Nyamhuri. Xavier Bartlett came out to bat next. Bartlett and Renshaw added 15 runs for the 7th wicket before Bartlett fell for 5 off 11 balls to Nyamhuri.
Nathan Ellis came out to bat. But the story was all about Matt Renshaw. The left-handed batter, batting at 6, showed his class and converted his start into a big one as he scored his ton and became the first number 6 since Damien Martyn in 2004 to score a ton in Harare for Australia. Renshaw and Ellis added 19 runs for the 8th wicket before Renshaw fell for a magnificent 109 off 94 balls with 7 fours and 3 sixes to his name to Nyamhuri, who completed his five-wicket haul.
Adam Zampa joined Ellis in the middle with 4 balls to go in the innings. Zampa scampered a triple while Ellis added a few runs as the duo added 6 runs off the last 4 balls to take Australia to an above-par score of 294/8 in 50 overs. Ellis remained unbeaten on 9 off 12 balls while Zampa remained unbeaten on 3 off 2 balls. 16 extras were given by Zimbabwe bowlers.
From Zimbabwe’s bowling point of view, Newman Nyamhuri was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 5/62 in 9 overs. Brad Evans supported him well with his 2/51 in 9 overs. Captain Sikandar Raza finished with 1/62 in 10 overs. Blessing Muzarabani finished his spell wicketless but with economical figures of 0/46 in 10 overs. Wessly Madhevere bowled 3 overs for 18 runs. Brian Bennett bowled 3 overs for 19 runs. Wellington Masakadza finished with 0/36 in 6 overs. This meant that Zimbabwe were set a huge target of 295 runs off 50 overs to win this match.
Nathan Ellis’ 5-wicket haul restricts Zimbabwe to 235 in 45.1 overs
Chasing 295 for an improbable win, Brian Bennett and Ben Curran came out to open the batting for Zimbabwe while Spencer Johnson had the ball in hand for Australia. The opening duo added just one run to the tally before Ben fell for a golden duck to Xavier Bartlett. Innocent Kaia came out to bat next. Kaia and Bennett tried to rebuild things for the Chevrons and added a decent 44-run stand for the second wicket before Innocent fell for 18 off 19 balls with 2 fours to his name to Nathan Ellis.
Keeper batter Brendan Taylor came out to bat next. Just one run was added to the tally before the set batter Brian Bennett fell for 25 off 32 balls with 3 fours and one six to his name to Ellis, who had two in the over. Experienced campaigner Craig Ervine came out to bat next. Ervine and Taylor tried to forge some sort of a partnership and added 16 runs for the 4th wicket before keeper Taylor fell for 4 off 13 balls to Matt Renshaw. Captain Sikandar Raza came out to bat next.
Zimbabwe were 62/4 in the 14th over when Ervine and Raza joined forces and started to lead the fightback for the Chevrons. The duo looked in total control and gave Australia a minor scare in this chase. They added 98 runs for the 5th wicket before Ervine fell for 59 off 60 balls with 6 fours and one six to his name to Ellis, who cleaned him up as both the batters completed their half-centuries. Wessly Madhevere came out to bat next.
Raza took charge after that as Madhevere gave him good company as the duo added 21 runs for the 6th wicket before Raza fell for 57 off 76 balls with 5 fours to his name to Spencer Johnson, who cleaned him up. Brad Evans came out to bat next. Madhevere and Evans tried to stitch together another partnership and added 18 runs for the 7th wicket before Madhevere fell for 22 off 30 balls with 2 fours to his name. Wellington Masakadza came out to bat next.
Evans and Wellington tried to stitch another partnership to delay the inevitable and added 28 runs for the 8th wicket before Masakadza fell for 14 off 17 balls with one four to his name to Ellis. Newman Nyamhuri came out to bat next. Evans and Nyamhuri could add 8 runs for the 9th wicket before Evans fell for 18 off 20 balls with one six to his name to Adam Zampa. Blessing Muzarabani came out to bat next.
Two balls later, the match ended with Nyamhuri, the last man out for 1 off 3 balls to Ellis, who cleaned him up and completed his five-wicket haul. Muzarabani remained unbeaten on 0 off 2 balls. 17 extras were given by Australia as Zimbabwe finished with 235 in 45.1 overs.
Nathan Ellis was the pick of the bowlers for Australia with figures of 5/31 in 9.1 overs. Spencer Johnson finished with 1/44 in 9 overs. Xavier Bartlett finished with 1/41 in 8 overs. Matt Renshaw finished with 1/32 in 4 overs. Adam Zampa finished with 1/55 in 10 overs. Cooper Connolly finished with 1/23 in 4 overs. Oliver Peake finished with 0/4 in 1 over. So, Australia beat Zimbabwe by 59 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the 3-match ODI series. Matt Renshaw was awarded the Player of the Match Award.
What Lies Ahead
So, Australia have drawn first blood in the series as they lead the series 1-0 with 2 games to play. The second game of the series will be played at the same venue on Friday, 18th September, 2026. Australia will aim to clinch the series on Friday, while Zimbabwe will be in a must-win situation and look to level the series 1-1 and force a decider on Sunday. Can they fight back, though?
We will find that answer on Friday in Harare.
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