Highlights
- Australia lead the series 1-0
- Zimbabwe will play three matches against Australia
- Australia will play New Zealand after the Zimbabwe tour ends
AUS vs ZIM: The mighty Aussies have extended their dominant run and are looking ahead toward a series win. The Aaron Finch-led Australian team faced a major setback when they lost allrounder Mitchell Marsh ahead of the all-important second ODI. Zimbabwe is touring Australia and is scheduled to play 3 match ODI series. Before this Zimbabwe played the KL Rahul-led team India who inflicted a 3-0 series loss on them. Not to discount the fact that Zimbabwe discovered few heroes on their side consisting the likes of Innocent Kaia and Sikander Raza. But as of now, it feels that they are not good enough against the mighty Aussies. The Kangaroos have walked into this game with some determination and they have done everything at their disposal to minimize Zimbabwe's chances of winning the ODI series.
Aaron Finch won the toss and decided to field first. The same strategy that he used in the previous match and the same strategy that KL Rahul had used against Zimbabwe when the men in blue toured. Innocent Kaia and Tadiwanashe Marumani opened the batting for Zimbabwe and were determined to amass a decent total. Speedster Starc was too good for the Zimbabwe openers and got the trio of Innocent Kaia (2), Tadiwanashe Marumani (4), and Wesley Madhevere (0) in quick succession. As Zimbabwe was reeling on 14/3, Sean Williams joined Sikandar Raza. Weathering the storm of Australian pace, both the batsmen stitched a partnership of 32 runs. But seeing the situation intensify a bit, Finch introduced Zampa into the attack who sent Williams (29) packing. Apart from Williams, no other batter from Zimbabwe crossed the 20 runs mark. Zimbabwe finally bundled out on 96 on board.
Left-armed pacer Mitchell Starc was the wreaker-in-chief as he claimed 3 wickets after conceding 24 runs in 8 overs. Zampa's web of spin bamboozled the visitors as he claimed 3 wickets. The final nail to the coffin was Cameroon Green's spell who claimed 2 wickets. As Australia has 97 to win, it seems a cakewalk for the Aaron Finch side to take the series home.
Zimbabwe XI: Innocent Kaia, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wesley Madhevere, Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Regis Chakabva(w/c), Ryan Burl, Tony Munyonga, Luke Jongwe, Brad Evans, Richard Ngarava
Australia XI: Aaron Finch(c), David Warner, Steven Smith, Alex Carey(w), Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
