ZIM v NZ, 2nd Test Day 4 Review: Kiwis on the brink of series win

The end of Day 4 of the second ZIM v NZ Test saw Sikandar Raza fall to a peach of a delivery from Tim Southee. However, the fact that Zimbabwe has lost 3 wickets on the day was evidence enough that the visitors were on the brink of an important and historic win. Moreover, the fact that Kane Williamson, the newly appointed Test skipper has taken over from Brendon McCullum in fine fashion and now stands on the brink of a whitewash against a Zimbabwe side lacking in Test match practice and confidence.

Day four of the second Test at Bulawayo kicked-off with Craig Ervine on the brink of creating history after having scored a rare Test match century for Zimbabwe. However, the fact that he received little or no support from the other end meant that it was done or die and Ervine had to go all in. He began to smack the ball to different parts of the Queens Club as his quest towards the 150-run mark was a well documented one.

An important milestone was reached when the Zimbabwe batsmen managed to avoid the follow-on, meaning that the Kiwis would have to bat yet again. However, the hosts lost wickets in tandem as they managed to add just 50 odd runs as they lost their last four wickets to the spin of Ish Sodhi. This saw New Zealand take on the initiative to bat again and set a stiff target, something that would allow them enough time to bowl the hosts out and complete a clean sweep.

Also Read – ZIM v NZ, 2nd Test Day 2 Review: Williamson and Taylor slam tons

The New Zealand innings got off to a bad start when Tiripano and Chinouya removed Latham and Guptill early on in the innings. However, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor added a quickfire 100-run partnership as they set a stiff total of 389 for the hosts. Zimbabwe came out to bat in the final session of the day, with the wild attempt to thwart the Kiwi attack. Needless to say, they were unsuccessful.

Chamu Chibhabha and Tino Mawoyo fell after laying a solid foundation after scoring 21 and 35 respectively. However, the most disappointing aspect of the end of the day’s play was the fact that they lost Sikandar Raza at the end of the day’s play.

Brief Scores

New Zealand, 1st innings: 582/4

Zimbabwe, 1st innings: 362 all out (C Ervine 146; I Sodhi 4/60)

New Zealand, 2nd innings: 166/2 (K Williamson 68*; D Tiripano 1/14)

Zimbabwe, 2nd innings: 58/3 (T Mawoyo 35; T Boult 1/11)