Mismatches
usually don't get any more monumental than this as Zimbabwe's agony continued
on the tour of New Zealand with yet another thrashing in the second one-dayer.
Given the gulf between the two sides, there is little reason to predict for the
story to be any different when the teams clash on Thursday in the final, dead
encounter.
Click for Live Score Card of New Zealand Vs Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe have had no answers to the attacking brigade of the Kiwi players who
have thoroughly outclassed them in all departments of the game.
The margin of defeat was nothing short of embarrassing for the struggling Zimbabwe
side who were hoping to fare better than they did in the test match. However,
the difficult conditions have eliminated any possible resurgence by them as
they struggle to face the Kiwi music.
Chasing a mammoth total, they lost wickets early, including that of skipper Brendan Taylor, thereby crushing hopes of any fightback. While Tatenda
Taibu scored a half-century, the batsmen will be eager to improve on their showing.
The bowlers were no less miserable either, being taken for runs at will at the
small Cobham Park ground.
New Zealand could not have asked for a better warm-up going into the South African
series next month. They have been ruthless in their method and have gone for the
killer punch instead of taking Zimbabwe any lightly. The bowlers have enjoyed
the series, though their job was made much easier by the batsmen on Monday.
Jacob Oram's all-round brilliance will please the selectors as well as fans,
as he stroked an aggressive 59 before picking up three wickets with the ball. Tim Southee would be feeling rather embarrassed at having conceded at
five runs per over, and hence should be charged up to do better in the final
ODI.
An injury to Dean Brownlie means he will miss out from the action at
Napier. The day/night match starts at 2pm local time.
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