ZIM vs AUS, 1st ODI: Australia took a 1-0 lead after a comfortable 59-run win over Zimbabwe in the first of the three ODIs on September 15, Tuesday at the Harare Sports Club in Harare. Matt Renshaw and Nathan Ellis played central roles with the bat as the 295-run target proved a bridge too far for the home side and got bowled out for 235 in less than 50 overs.
ZIM vs AUS, 1st ODI: Matt Renshaw rescues Australia after a wobble
With Australian captain Mitchell Marsh winning the toss, he elected to bat first despite a fair amount of grass on the surface. Travis Head perished cheaply to Brad Evans, while Mitchell Marsh (36) and Cooper Connolly (51) couldn’t convert their starts to bigger scores but batted well. With Josh Inglis also departing for a single-figure score, the tourists wobbled to 107/4 after looking at a score of 350 at one stage. Renshaw joined hands with Alex Carey as they found a way to stitch a 72-run stand off 86 deliveries. Carey laboured to 27 off the 53 deliveries he faced before becoming Evans’ second victim of the innings to complete a run-a-ball fifty, getting to 55 with an enormous six. At the other end, Ollie Peake was doing a serviceable job until a hit wicket cost him his scalp for 30, ending a 75-run partnership.
Renshaw needed only 86 deliveries to complete his maiden ton but the boundaries dried up for Australia in the slog overs as only 66 runs came in the final 10 overs. The Queenslander became Newman Nyamhuri’s fifth victim as the left-arm seamer took figures of 9-0-62-5, setting Zimbabwe 294 in 50 overs.
ZIM vs AUS, 1st ODI: Nathan Ellis strikes twice in first over to peg Zimbabwe back
Xavier Bartlett got the first wicket of Ben Curran in his first over, while Nathan Ellis also made his two incisions the moment Mitchell Marsh introduced him into the attack. Renshaw’s dismissal of Brendan Taylor in the 14th over saw the home side teeter at 62/4.
But Zimbabwe refused to go into their shell as Raza and Ervine took some calculated risks to shift the pressure onto the opposition. It took a late nip-away delivery from Ellis to break the 98-run stand as Ervine perished for 59. Due to Raza’s struggles with his leg, he was unable to get the boundaries that Zimbabwe needed fairly frequently. Spencer Johnson cleaned him up for 57 with a textbook yorker.
Nyamhuri turned out to be Ellis’ fifth wicket of the innings as Australia wrapped up a comfortable win.
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