Bulawayo [Zimbabwe], August 1 : An explosive nine-wicket outing for pacer Matt Henry, including a first-innings six-wicket haul, helped New Zealand secure a massive 10-wicket win over Zimbabwe during the first Test of the series on Friday.
With this win, New Zealand is 1-0 up in the two-match series.
Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat first. They looked completely at sea against Henry, who ripped through the team's top order, reducing them to 69/5. A 54-run stand between skipper Craig Ervine (39 in 116 balls, with six fours) and Tafadzwa Tsiga (30 in 78 balls, with five fours) offered some temporary relief, but Zimbabwe was bundled out for 149 in 60.3 overs.
Henry (6/39) and Nathan Smith (3/20) were the top bowlers for the Kiwis.
Kiwis kick-started with an opening stand of 92 runs between Will Young (41 in 70 balls, with four boundaries) and Devon Conway. Conway had another 66-run stand with Henry Nicholls (34 in 56 balls, with six fours). Following this, they collapsed to 200/6, with Blessing Muzarabani (3/73) and Tanaka Chivanga (2/51) pulling things back for Zimbabwe.
Conway's well-fought 88 in 170 balls, with 12 fours and Daryl Mitchell's brilliant 119-ball 80, with five fours and a six, powered the Kiwis to 307 runs, with Mitchell being the last wicket to fall. NZ trailed by 158 runs.
In Zimbabwe's second innings, Henry (3/51) and Will'o Rourke (3/28) wreaked havoc with pace, while spinner Mitchell Santner (4/27) wiped out the lower order, skittling out Zimbabwe for 165 runs. They led by just seven runs, and NZ chasing the deficit was a mere formality.
Henry's nine-wicket haul earned him the 'Player of the Match' award.
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