Williamson leads New Zealand to series triumph
HARARE: Captain Kane Williamson's steady knock and an assured
performance from the New Zealand bowlers saw the tourists secure a
38-run victory in Friday's third One-day International against Zimbabwe
and wrap up a 2-1 series win.Williamson recorded his sixth straight
score of 50 or more as his 90 guided New Zealand to 273 for six, and
although Zimbabwe's opening stand gave the World Cup finalists a scare,
the bowlers held their nerve to restrict the hosts to 235 all out.
New Zealand therefore completed a come-from-behind series victory,
having lost the first ODI by seven wickets."It certainly wasn't easy
today, so the way that the boys stuck in it and put up a competitive
total was a really good effort," said Williamson, who was named man of
the match and man of the series. "We thought it was a very good total
until Zimbabwe came out and played the way they did and put us under a
lot of pressure, but full credit to our boys for learning from that
first game and pulling it back nicely."On a dry wicket, New Zealand's
batsmen were tested by Zimbabwe's spin duo of Graeme Cremer and John
Nyumbu, who took five wickets between them.
Off-spinner Nyumbu made the initial breakthrough when he dismissed
Tom Latham, and after New Zealand rebuilt to 100 for one, Cremer had
Martin Guptill caught at slip for 42 and then spun one through the
defences of Colin Munro.Williamson added 70 for the fourth wicket with
Grant Elliott, but New Zealand were pegged back when Cremer dismissed
Elliott for 36, and Williamson was brilliantly caught on the boundary
for 90 off Nyumbu's bowling.
Although James Neesham and Nathan McCullum boosted the New Zealand
total with an unbroken stand of 50 from 25 balls, Zimbabwe were on track
to chase down the target when Hamilton Masakadza and Chamu Chibhabha put
on 97 for the first wicket.
It required a timely intervention from Mitchell McClenaghan to pull
things back as he bowled Chibhabha for 32, before Masakadza struck a
short ball from Williamson straight to deep midwicket and departed for
57.
A budding partnership between Craig Ervine and Sean Williams was then
snaffled out by Ben Wheeler's sharp fielding off his own bowling, and
although Williams went on to hit 63, McClenaghan returned to grab two
more wickets and finish with figures of 3 for 36 as New Zealand won
comfortably enough.
"Our batting let us down - I thought it was a reasonable score to
chase," Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura said."We had the foundation,
but myself and a few other batters failed to put runs on the board. It's
something we can learn from." The two teams will meet again at Harare
Sports Club on Sunday for a one-off Twenty20 international, when New
Zealand will once again be without Ross Taylor. |