AI Simulation, ZIM vs NZ | New Zealand complete whitewash with all-round performance

08/07/2025

As per Artificial Intelligence, New Zealand will beat Zimbabwe by nine wickets in the second and final Test at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. Matt Henry and Mitchell Santner picked up eight and seven wickets, respectively, while Devon Conway top-scored for the Kiwis in the first innings.

‌Pitch & Weather

It was a dry surface with initial assistance to pacers before cracks started opening up, supporting spinners in the latter part of the match. It was good batting conditions early on, with mostly clear skies throughout. Day three’s morning session had some cloud cover, which aided seam bowling.

Toss & Conditions

New Zealand won the toss and elected to bowl first.

Lineups

Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Ben Curran, Nick Welch, Sean Williams, Craig Ervine (c), Sikandar Raza, Brendan Taylor (wk), Newman Nyamhuri, Vincent Masekesa, Blessing Muzarabani, Tanaka Chivanga.

New Zealand: Will Young, Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Zakary Foulkes, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy.

Match Report

New Zealand pocketed the two-match series against Zimbabwe 2-0 with a nine-wicket win in the second Test at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. The Kiwis romped home with an all-round bowling performance led by pacer Matt Henry’s eight-wicket haul and captain Mitchell Santner’s seven. With the bat, Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, and Daryl Mitchell scored half-centuries in New Zealand’s first innings to garner a huge first innings lead.

Zimbabwe’s struggles with the bat continued after being put in on a helpful pitch. Though Sean Williams (34) and captain Craig Ervine (27) provided some resistance with promising starts, Matt Henry’s wonderful display of seam bowling helped the visitors scythe through Zimbabwe’s middle and lower order. Henry ended with impressive figures of 5/41 while skipper Mitchell Santner (3/28) supported from the other end with regular breakthroughs as the home side crumbled for just 164.

New Zealand’s top order capitalized on the conditions, with in-form opener Devon Conway playing anchor and compiling a patient 71. The southpaw hit nine fours to top score for the visitors while Henry Nicholls and Daryl Mitchell added vital fifties to take their total past the 300-run mark. Though the pace duo of Blessing Muzarabani (4/72) and Tanaka Chivanga (3/66) kept Zimbabwe’s hopes alive, sharing seven wickets among them, the visitors secured a 182-run lead with their 346.

Facing a huge deficit, Zimbabwe's batters crumbled yet again, with Williams and Ervine doing the bulk of the scoring, similar to the first innings. Williams struck a crisp half-century, a knock that included seven fours and a six, and Ervine scored a 61-ball 41, but Santner spun a web on the increasingly dry surface to ensure that the hosts’ batting innings ended at 213, setting them a meagre target of 32 for a clean sweep. The New Zealand skipper was the pick among their bowlers with figures of 4/51, while Henry had three wickets to his name.

Will Young and Conway looked set to gift the Kiwis a 10-wicket victory, but Muzarabani dismissed the former to pick his fifth wicket of the game. Conway, however, remained unbeaten to guide the visitors to a comfortable win, going past the target in the 10th over.