Travis Head was back to his best as he slammed a breathtaking 8th ODI ton and got there in 75 balls to power Australia forward. Travis Head was unstoppable and he laid the platform for the Aussies for a huge score. He was ably supported by Mitchell Marsh, Cooper Connolly, and then Oliver Peake with the finish as Australia amassed 356/6 in 50 overs with everyone making handy contributions.
In the defence of the target, Australia rode on an all-round bowling display with wickets shared all around to keep Zimbabwe down to 272 in 48.3 overs as the Chevrons batters got starts of 20s and 30s in particular, but never kicked on beyond 50. Sikandar Raza made 45, but it was a bridge too far as Australia won by 84 runs to clinch the series and win it 2-0 with a game to spare.
Travis Head’s superlative 8th ODI ton powers Australia to 356/6 in 50 overs
Put in to bat first at Harare Sports Club, captain Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head came out to open the batting for Australia while Blessing Muzarabani had the new ball in hand for Zimbabwe. It was the Travis Head show from the get-go as the southpaw was in the zone from the word go. Marsh played second fiddle to him as the duo complemented each other really well. The duo tore apart the bowlers and dominated them in the power play.
The duo scored 78 runs in the mandatory power play of 10 overs and did not stop there either. Travis was the aggressor without a shadow of a doubt. Marsh was happy to play the second fiddle as they laid the platform for the dominance shown by Australia. They played for close to 19 overs and added 130 runs for the first wicket with both scoring half-centuries. Head was hungry for more. Finally, the opening stand was broken when Marsh fell for 53 off 63 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes to his name to Wellington Masakadza, who cleaned him up with a beauty.
Cooper Connolly walked out to bat at 3. The key to Australia’s batting today was regular, consistent partnerships, and that helped them. Head and Connolly also looked at ease with each other with Head notching up his 8th ODI ton in 75 balls. The duo put on exactly 60 runs for the second wicket before Head was dismissed for a magnificent 112 off 84 balls with 15 fours and 3 sixes to his name to Wessly Madhevere. Keeper-batter Josh Inglis came out to bat next.
Inglis too got a start as Connolly was now holding the innings together. The duo added 39 runs for the third wicket before Inglis fell for 21 off 20 balls with 2 fours to his name to Wellington Masakadza, caught and bowled. Alex Carey came out to bat, and he too got a start. Connolly was growing in confidence and completed his second consecutive fifty. The duo of Connolly and Carey added 57 runs for the 4th wicket before Carey was sent packing for 20 off 30 balls with one four to his name to Brad Evans. Matt Renshaw, last match’s centurion, arrived at the crease.
Renshaw and Connolly could add 11 runs for the 5th wicket before Connolly fell for a well-made 78 off 69 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes to his name to Evans. Oliver Peake arrived at the crease. Renshaw and Peake tried to forge some sort of a partnership and added 24 runs for the 6th wicket before Renshaw fell for 15 off 11 balls with one four to his name to Evans. Nathan Ellis came out to bat next with Australia at 321/6 in 47.3 overs.
Australia needed a finishing kick, and they got that from young Oliver Peake. Ellis accepted himself to be a mute spectator while Peake unleashed his power shots in the final overs. He got runs consistently, and in the final over of the innings bowled by Evans, Peake smashed him for 24 runs to power the Aussies past 350. The 7th wicket added 35 runs in 2.3 overs as Australia finished with a massive 356/6 in 50 overs, with Peake remaining unbeaten on 41 off 18 balls with 2 fours and 3 sixes to his name alongside Nathan Ellis unbeaten on 6 off 5 balls. 10 extras were given by the fielding side.
It was a hard toil for the Zimbabwe bowlers under the sun. Brad Evans finished with 3/86 in 9 overs. Wellington Masakadza finished with 2/51 in 9 overs and bowled really well. Wessly Madhevere finished with 1/52 in 8 overs. Blessing Muzarabani finished with 0/68 in 9 overs. Newman Nyamhuri finished with 0/37 in 5 overs. Captain Sikandar Raza bowled 10 overs for 60 runs. This meant that Zimbabwe had a massive 357 runs to win off 50 overs to stay alive in the series and level the series 1-1.
All-Round bowling display restricts Zimbabwe to 272 in 48.3 overs
Chasing a massive 357 runs for an unlikely win, Brian Bennett and Ben Curran came out to open the batting for Zimbabwe while Josh Hazlewood had the ball in hand for Australia. The Chevrons got off to a steady start as they endured a wicketless mandatory power play of 10 overs. The openers got starts as the duo put on 46 runs for the first wicket inside 12 overs before Bennett fell for 23 off 34 balls with 3 fours to his name to Matt Renshaw, who cleaned him up. Innocent Kaia came out to bat next.
Curran and Kaia tried to forge a partnership as they added 14 runs for the second wicket before Curran fell for 30 off 36 balls with 4 fours to his name to Matt Renshaw, who got another bowled to his name. Keeper-batter Brendan Taylor came out to bat next. Taylor and Kaia fought hard for the hosts and tried to build up a partnership to lay some platform for the team. The duo added 55 runs for the 3rd wicket before Kaia fell for 34 off 47 balls with 3 fours to his name to Adam Zampa, who knocked him over. Craig Ervine came out to bat next.
Taylor and Ervine, the two experienced campaigners, joined forces and added another partnership of note. The duo added 44 runs for the 4th wicket before Taylor fell for 39 off 40 balls with 3 fours to his name to Oliver Peake. Captain Sikandar Raza came out to bat next. Raza and Ervine tried to forge another partnership and added 28 runs for the 5th wicket before Ervine fell for 38 off 39 balls with 3 fours to his name to Zampa. Brad Evans came out to bat next.
Raza was the last hope for them, and he tried his best to keep the fight going. Raza and Evans added 31 runs for the 6th wicket before Evans fell for 12 off 12 balls with one six to his name to Nathan Ellis. Wessly Madhevere came out to bat next, and he played his shots. Madhevere and Raza got together and formed a nice partnership as they added 35 runs for the 7th wicket and took the Chevrons past 250 before Madhevere fell for 26 off 13 balls with four fours to his name to Josh Hazlewood. Newman Nyamhuri came out to bat next.
Hazlewood had two in the over as two runs were added to the score before Nyamhuri fell for 2 off 2 balls to Josh himself. Wellington Masakadza came out to bat next. Raza then decided to play his shots as he was fighting a lone battle out there. Wellington hit a boundary as well. The duo of Raza and Wellington added 17 runs for the 9th wicket before Raza, the captain, finally fell for 45 off 49 balls with 5 fours to his name to Cooper Connolly.
Blessing Muzarabani came out to bat next and was knocked over off the first ball as Connolly picked up 2 wickets in 2 balls to wrap up the match with 9 balls to spare. Wellington remained unbeaten on 10 off 8 balls with one four to his name as Zimbabwe were eventually bowled out for 272 in 48.3 overs. 13 extras given by the fielding side.
Loads of bowling options were used by Australia, and the wickets were shared amongst them. Josh Hazlewood finished with 2/48 in 9 overs. Cooper Connolly finished with 2/25 in 6.1 overs. Matt Renshaw finished with 2/44 in 7 overs. Adam Zampa finished with 2/62 in 9 overs. Nathan Ellis finished with 1/31 in 6 overs. Oliver Peake finished with 1/29 in 5 overs. Billy Stanlake bowled 4.2 overs for 19 runs before walking off the field injured with a side-strain. Travis Head bowled 2 overs for 10 runs. So, Australia won this match by 84 runs and clinched the series 2-0 with a game to spare. Travis Head was awarded the Player of the Match Award.
What Lies Ahead
So, Australia have won the series 2-0 with a game to spare. They would like to seal the series 3-0 with a clean sweep on Sunday. The next ODI which is the finale of this series takes place on Sunday, 20th September 2026 at 1 PM IST. Zimbabwe will aim to pull one back and end the series on a high. Australia will aim for the whitewash. Let’s see how the final ODI pans out in Harare.
Also Read: ZIM VS AUS: Travis Head’s Blistering 8th ODI Ton Powers Australia Past 350.