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New Zealand are on a roll as they secured their second consecutive victory in the T20I Tri-Nation after trouncing Zimbabwe by eight wickets in Harare on Friday, July 18. After winning the toss and electing to field, New Zealand's bowlers, spearheaded by Matt Henry's impressive figures of 3 for 26 and supported by economical spells from the spinners, restricted Zimbabwe to a total of 120 for 7. In response, Devon Conway anchored the chase with a well-composed unbeaten innings of 59 off 40 deliveries. He forged crucial half-century partnerships with both Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell, guiding New Zealand to victory within 14 overs.
New Zealand benefited from an early stroke of luck when Blessing Muzarabani dropped a simple catch from Devon Conway off the bowling of Richard Ngarava in the opening over. However, Muzarabani made amends in the subsequent over by dismissing the dangerous Tim Seifert. Zimbabwe maintained a disciplined bowling effort, with Rachin Ravindra's four off Ngarava in the fourth over being the first boundary of the innings. New Zealand eventually accelerated their scoring rate when Ravindra struck three consecutive fours off Trevor Gwandu in the fifth over. This was followed by a four and a boundary for Conway, and a six for Ravindra off Muzarabani, propelling New Zealand to 43 for 1 at the end of the six-over powerplay.
The second-wicket partnership continued to build steadily, reaching a fifty-run stand. However, their progress was halted when a short delivery from Tinotenda Maposa and a diving catch by Muzarabani led to Ravindra's dismissal for a 19-ball 30. At this stage, Conway, who was on 29 off 27 balls, shifted gears, hitting sixes off Ngarava and Sikandar Raza as he reached his half-century in 34 balls. New Zealand surpassed the 100-run mark in the 13th over, and a six by Mitchell off Gwandu brought the required runs down to single digits. Their partnership also reached the fifty-run milestone before Conway sealed the victory for New Zealand with a boundary in the 14th over.
Batting first, Zimbabwe showed some initial promise with Wessly Madhevere hitting two fours off Henry in the opening over, and Brian Bennett smashing a six off Adam Milne in the third. However, their scoring rate slowed down in the latter half of the powerplay, and they also lost Bennett to a short delivery from Henry, finishing the first six overs at 39 for 1. New Zealand's spin bowlers then took control, effectively restricting boundaries, although Clive Madande was fortunate when Mitchell Santner dropped a difficult return catch. His luck didn't last long, as Ravindra had him stumped in the following over, leaving Zimbabwe at a modest 61 for 2 after the first ten overs.
Madhevere attempted to accelerate the scoring, but he was bowled by Milne for a 32-ball 36. Ryan Burl followed soon after, dismissed by Michael Bracewell via a reverse-sweep. The regular fall of wickets significantly hampered Zimbabwe's momentum, and further setbacks followed for the home side. Raza edged a delivery from Santner, while Henry picked up his third wicket by dismissing Tashinga Musekiwa with a short ball, reducing Zimbabwe to 98 for 6 in the 17th over. Tony Munyonga contributed a useful 13, adding 22 runs with Maposa to help Zimbabwe reach a somewhat competitive total – although ultimately it proved to be insufficient against the clinical New Zealand side.
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