Wicket-keeper batter Josh Inglis stood up for Australia when it mattered and scored a superlative 2nd ODI ton as Australia edged out Zimbabwe by one wicket with one ball to spare in an edge-of-your-seat thriller in Harare. Josh Inglis took advantage of a dropped catch by Wessly Madhevere to script this win. But earlier on in the match, Sikandar Raza scored a valiant unbeaten 81 while others chipped in as Zimbabwe managed a challenging 271/8 in 50 overs with Nathan Ellis picking up 3 wickets alongside 2 wickets apiece for Adam Zampa and Spencer Johnson.
In reply, Australia lost early wickets before Josh Inglis stood out with his ton, taking advantage of the dropped catch by Madhevere. Things got tense in the end with regular fall of wickets. Nathan Ellis was dropped at the back end of the innings, and he made the Chevrons pay with his calm 36* and a maximum off the first ball of the final over, as Australia edged out Zimbabwe by 1 wicket with 1 ball to spare to win the series 1-0.
Sikandar Raza’s valiant unbeaten 81 helped Zimbabwe post a competitive 271/8 in 50 oversÂ
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Brian Bennett and Ben Curran came out to open the batting for Zimbabwe while Spencer Johnson had the ball in hand for Australia. The duo gave Zimbabwe a solid start, Bennett in particular, while Curran was playing second fiddle at the other end. The opening duo put on 34 for the first wicket inside 6 overs before Curran was the first to depart for 7 off 13 balls to Spencer Johnson. Innocent Kaia came out to bat next.
Bennett and Kaia tried to forge a partnership and added 14 runs for the second wicket before Bennett, the set batter, fell for 30 off 29 balls with 5 fours and one six to his name to Nathan Ellis. Keeper-batter Brendan Taylor came out to bat next. The mandatory power play score was 57/2 for the Chevrons. The duo of Kaia and Taylor added 20 runs for the third wicket before Taylor fell for 9 off16 balls with one four to his name to Adam Zampa, who cleaned him up. Craig Ervine walked out to the middle next.
Ervine and Kaia got together and laid the foundation for the hosts to get a decent total. Both the players complemented each other really well out there. They looked in control of the proceedings and put on 80 runs between them before Kaia, after reaching his 3rd ODI fifty, pulled his hamstring and was deeply hurt. He could not move and retired hurt on 55 off 66 balls with 7 fours to his name. This brought the captain, Sikandar Raza, to the crease in the 29th over.
From hereon, it was the Sikandar Raza show, and he was ably complemented by Ervine as the experienced duo took charge to take the innings forward. The duo played through the middle phase and took the score to 206/3 in 40 overs. The duo added 61 runs between them before Ervine fell after completing his half-century for 59 off 79 balls with 5 fours to his name to Zampa. Wessly Madhevere came out to bat next.
Just 3 runs were added to the score before Madhevere fell for 1 off 2 balls to Nathan Ellis. Brad Evans came out to bat next and played his shots. But the onus lay on Raza to carry the innings forward. The duo of Raza and Evans added 14 runs before Evans, after hitting two consecutive boundaries, fell for 11 off 11 balls with 2 fours to his name to Spencer Johnson. Graeme Cremer came out to bat next.
Just 5 runs were added to the score before Cremer fell for 1 off 4 balls to Ellis yet again. Ernest Masuku came out to bat next with the score at 231/7 in 44.5 overs. From hereon, the bulk of the scoring was done by Raza as the captain really led from the front with his superlative knock. Masuku was there at the other end, hanging in there till the end as Raza completed his fifty and went on to score something significant. The duo added a crucial 38-run stand between them before Masuku was run out off the penultimate ball of the innings for 3 off 9 balls.
Blessing Muzarabani came out to bat with one ball left in the innings. He was there at the non-striker’s end as Raza took a brace to end the over and the innings as Zimbabwe finished with a fighting total of 271/8 in 50 overs. Raza remained unbeaten on 81 off 72 balls with 7 fours and a maximum to his name while Blessing did not face a ball. 14 extras were given by the fielding side.
The Australian bowlers bowled well, especially in the backend of the innings. Nathan Ellis was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/50 in 10 overs. Spencer Johnson supported him well with figures of 2/50 in 10 overs. Adam Zampa finished with 2/53 in 10 overs. There was one run-out in the innings. Xavier Bartlett finished with 0/69 in 10 overs. Cooper Connolly finished with 0/17 in 3 overs. Matt Renshaw finished with 0/26 in 6 overs. Oliver Peake bowled an over for 4 runs. This meant that the target for Australia was 272 runs off 50 overs to complete the series whitewash 3-0.
Josh Inglis’ superlative ton sets up a thrilling one-wicket one for Australia in a nail-biter
Chasing a challenging 272 for the win, captain Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head opened the batting for Australia while Blessing Muzarabani had the ball in hand for Zimbabwe. The openers could not muster much, but thanks to extras from the hosts managed to put on 20 runs inside the first two overs before Head was the first one to depart for 6 off 6 balls with one four to his name to Brad Evans. Cooper Connolly came out to bat next. Just 5 runs were added to the score before captain Marsh fell for 8 off 5 balls with one six to his name to Evans yet again. Keeper-batter Josh Inglis came out to bat next.
Connolly and Inglis started to forge a stand to bring Australia back on track and did so aggressively. The powerplay score here, also by the Aussies, was 57/2 in 10 overs, the same as Zimbabwe. The duo for the third wicket added 52 runs before Connolly was dismissed for 21 off 39 balls with 4 fours to his name to Graeme Cremer, who cleaned him up. Alex Carey came out to bat next.
The duo of Inglis and Carey started to form a partnership to lay the platform for the chase. Zimbabwe had their chance to dismiss Inglis when the score was 111, and he was on 48* when Wessly Madhevere dropped a relatively tough chance at backward point. This drop turned out to be very costly in the end. Inglis then survived a run-out chance after completing his fifty as Brendan Taylor, the keeper, made a meal of the chance. But Inglis never looked back and scored a half-century and went beyond that.
Carey was complementing him well as the duo of the two wicket-keepers added 85 crucial runs for the 4th wicket before Carey was dismissed for 34 off 30 balls with 5 fours to his name to Brad Evans, who had another and broke this threatening stand after Madhevere took a stunner at backward point. Matt Renshaw came out to bat next. Inglis and Renshaw could add only 14 runs for the 5th wicket before Renshaw was sent packing for 4 off 10 balls to Wessly Madhevere.
Oliver Peake came out to bat next with half the team back in the hut for 176. Peake gave good support for Inglis as the innings moved forward. Peake looked good while he was there at the crease. The duo added 27 runs for the 6th wicket and took Australia past 200 before Peake fell for 19 off 32 balls with one four to his name to Sikandar Raza. Xavier Bartlett came out to bat next. Just three runs were added to the score before Bartlett fell for 3 off 6 balls to Cremer. Nathan Ellis came out to bat next.
These losses did not phase Inglis as he completed a superlative second ODI ton. Inglis, who was dropped earlier in the day, was not holding the key for the Aussies and the match as well. Inglis added 21 runs for the 8th wicket with Ellis before falling for 103 off 102 balls with 11 fours to his name as Raza bowled a beauty to knock his stumps over. This was huge, and now Zimbabwe believed in an unlikely win. Adam Zampa came out to bat next.
But the Aussies were not throwing in the towel yet after the dismissal of Inglis. Ellis and Zampa began their rearguard action in grand fashion. Ellis was the main act now, and Zampa did well to hang in there as long as he could. The duo took the score from 227/8 to 245, adding 18 priceless runs to bring the target to 27 runs before Zampa was dismissed for 9 off 12 balls to Evans trying to go for the big hit.
Spencer Johnson walked out to bat in the 46th over, and now, Zimbabwe were the favourites. But Ellis and Johnson had other ideas. Slowly, but steadily, they built the partnership, and with the rate required under control, there was no need to do anything extraordinary. It was a tight affair, and Zimbabwe had their chances. Another chance came in the 49th over, the penultimate over of the match, when Ellis miscued a ball to deep midwicket, where Madhevere dropped the catch and the match. This was in the closing stages, and the game was lost, one felt.
Australia took the game deep, and with 9 needed off the last 6 balls with Ellis on strike, the right-handed batter launched Madhevere for the maximum to literally seal the deal. Thereafter, the duo took singles and calmly completed the chase with one ball left. The duo added 27 runs unbeaten for the last wicket as Australia got over the line by 3 wickets with one ball to spare. Ellis remained unbeaten on 36 off 44 balls with 2 fours and a maximum to his name, while Johnson remained unbeaten on 7 off 13 balls. 22 extras were gifted by Zimbabwe as Australia finished with 272/9 in 49.5 overs.
Zimbabwe put in a spirited bowling display, it must be said. Brad Evans was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/47 in 10 overs. Captain Sikandar Raza finished with 2/42 in 10 overs. Graeme Cremer finished with 2/53 in 10 overs. Wessly Madhevere chipped in with 1/34 in 5.5 overs. Blessing Muzarabani was wicketless yet again, third time in the series, as he finished with 0/49 in 10 overs. Ernest Masuku gave away 38 runs in 5 overs.
So, Australia won a thriller by 1 wicket with one ball to spare to seal the series 3-0 and complete the whitewash. Josh Inglis was awarded the Player of the Match while Cooper Connolly was awarded the Player of the Series.
What Lies Ahead
With this match, the series comes to an end with Australia winning it 3-0 after winning the first two matches convincingly and then pulling this 3rd ODI by a thriller. Next up for Australia will be a trip to South Africa, where they will play 3 ODIs starting next week from September 24th onwards in Durban. The Aussies will play 3 Tests against the Proteas in October. Zimbabwe, on the other hand, will be off to the UAE in October for a multi-format series against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in various matches.
So, a lot to look forward to for both teams in white-ball cricket in the coming week and months for all of us.
Also Read:Â ZIM vs AUS: Sikandar Raza & Co Set A Target Of 272