Henry's three wickets set up the win as NZ cruise past Zimbabwe
Half-century from Conway, and all-round display from Ravindra, also helped NZ top the table
Half-century from Conway, and all-round display from Ravindra, also helped NZ top the table
Scorer: Sudeep Poojar | Commentator: Shashwat Kumar
4:10pm That will be all from us for this game. We hope you enjoyed our coverage, and until next time, from Harshith, Sudeep and myself (Shashwat), this is goodbye. Take care, folks!
Devon Conway, Player of the Match: It was nice to spend some time in the middle. Got a bit lucky early and fortunate I got through that period. Time in the middle is crucial in T20 cricket. I thought they (the Zimbabwe pacers) bowled really well. Credit to them, they made it hard for us. It was nice to get through that period, and nice to bat with Rachin and get through that period. (On the conditions) Challenging. Our bowlers bowled really well, spinners did well. To keep them to 120 was good. It (the pitch) might have settled down a bit for us, and really good to win. (On Zimbabwe having just one spinner) Only Sikandar bowled today - so it was a good result for us.
Mitchell Santner, New Zealand captain: We were challenged in different parts today. As a bowling unit, we bowled well. We pride ourselves (on our fielding), just a couple of dropped catches by me (smiles). We adapted well with the ball. We knew they were going to fire some shots. Kept taking wickets through the middle and thankfully there was some spin as well for us. (On Robinson missing out) Unfortunate for him. His innings the other day was outstanding. It is a good position for us. All (members of the squad) can do a job for us.
Sikandar Raza, Zimbabwe captain: I don't think we batted well at all. The powerplay was okay, but after that, when the ball started turning, we did not have any answers. Once the middle (overs) got away from us, it was tough to come back. It is a time when we have to accept the skills we have and improve on them. Once the skills are there, we can make a better plan. Today was a fair reflection of where we are (against spin and pace on challenging tracks). 145 would have been par and would have given us a better chance.
3:52pm A fairly comfortable run-chase in the end. That, though, did not seem the case at the start of the innings, when Muzarabani and Ngarava were getting the new ball to talk. Conway rode his luck a little, including being dropped by Muzarabani in Ngarava's first over, but found his range the longer he batted. Ravindra, who put on 59 with Conway, was the major driving factor in that partnership and his initial charge, including three successive fours off Gwandu inside the powerplay, put paid to any Zimbabwean hopes of a comeback.
Speaking of Zimbabwe, they gave it a proper rattle, at least for the first four overs. But they were soon playing catch-up because of how few they had on the board. There may still be something to work with for the hosts, but having lost two out of two, and with them pretty much in last-ditch territory (in this tri-series), they will have to figure out a way to score more runs. Stick around for the post-match presentation.
NZ one hit away now
"Just getting the call-up to come back into the squad is fantastic," he said
Half-century from Conway, and all-round display from Ravindra, also helped NZ top the table