McClenaghan (3/36) and Sodhi (2/47) were the pick of the New Zealand bowlers.
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Zimbabwe and New Zealand face off in the one-off Twenty20 global (T20I) at the Harare Sports Club on Sunday.
Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat, but despite an eye-catching unbeaten century from Sikandar Raza, their 235 for nine off 50 overs never looked enough.
Williamson should have been run out for 18 when he was caught short of the crease, but the lack of an appeal coupled with the on-field umpire’s reluctance to refer it to the third umpire resulted in a reprieve.
They pushed the visitors’ score beyond 260, as New Zealand muscled 54 runs in the last five overs.
He became the fourth New Zealander to make a half century on T20 debut – following Scott Styris’ 66 against Australia in the first official T20 at Eden Park in 2005, 63 by Aaron Redmond against Ireland in 2009 and 59 from Anton Devcich against Bangladesh two years ago. Even as the No. 3 Worker struggled to get his first worldwide run, Guptill kept the score moving with powerful pulls and drives.
In the New Zealand team, James Neesham has came in for Ross Taylor, while Ben Wheeler replaced Matt Henry.
Cremer was well supported by off-spinner John Nyumbu (two for 52) but the Zimbabwe seamers failed to exert pressure and get much reward from a dry pitch. In the final game too, the opening pair of Hamilton Masakadza and Chamu Chibhabha guided their side off to a strong start, but the rest of the batting order could not carry the innings all the way through.
Wicketkeeper Regis Chakabva (13) helped Ervine add 25 runs for the sixth wicket before he edged Milne behind to opposite number Ronchi and Cremer fell to McClenaghan moments after he and Ervine had guided Zimbabwe past the 100-run mark.
Mascarenhas hailed Sodhi’s role in the 2-1 ODI series defeat of Zimbabwe, particularly the way he responded to a wicket-less debut in game one.
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After striking four sixes and three fours, Worker finally perished when he advanced down the track and was bowled by Sean Williams, who was the only Zimbabwe bowler to escape major punishment as he took 3 for 28 in four overs. They have performed just one T20 this yr, the loss towards England, and exclusively three within the final twelve months and might be a bit rusty within the format.
