JuicyTalk
New Zealand have finished the league stage of the Zimbabwe T20I series on a high note, crushing the hosts Zimbabwe by 60 runs to register their fourth consecutive win. With this dominant performance, they now move on to face South Africa in the final of the series on Saturday.
Dominant batting display from New Zealand’s top order
Opting to bat first, New Zealand put together a strong total of 190/6 in their allotted 20 overs. Tim Seifert set the tone early with a brisk 45 from just 27 balls, while Rachin Ravindra played a steady hand, scoring 63 off 39. The pair added 108 runs for the second wicket, giving the innings a solid platform. Despite losing a few wickets in the final overs, Michael Bracewell’s unbeaten 26 helped finish the innings positively.
Zimbabwe managed to claw back some control late in the innings. Left-arm pacer Richard Ngarava was the standout, picking up 4 wickets and breaking key partnerships at vital stages. Tinotenda Maposa also made an impact, claiming two scalps to check New Zealand’s momentum briefly. However, the damage had been done early, and New Zealand’s batting dominance ensured they had a strong total on the board heading into the second innings.
Ish Sodhi leads the charge as Zimbabwe falters again with the bat
Zimbabwe once again faltered with the bat as they crumbled under pressure while chasing a stiff target, getting bowled out for 130 in 18.5 overs. Their innings lacked stability and partnerships, with only Ryan Burl and Tony Munyonga offering brief resistance. The rest of the batting lineup failed to fire, collapsing in clusters under disciplined bowling. The defeat capped a disappointing campaign for Zimbabwe, who finished the tri-series without a single win.
New Zealand’s bowlers delivered yet another clinical performance, spearheaded by Ish Sodhi, who ran through the middle order with superb figures of 4 for 12 in his four overs. With this Sodhi has now 150 T20I wickets to his name. Matt Henry picked up two wickets, while William O’Rourke, Zakary Foulkes, and Bracewell also contributed with one each. Their combined efforts ensured Zimbabwe never came close to the target. With this dominant performance, New Zealand wrapped up the league stage unbeaten, heading confidently into the final.
Here’s how fans reacted:
Tough T20I tri-series for hosts Zimbabwe, who finish without a win. They were always outsiders against South Africa and New Zealand, but four heavy defeats would be disappointing for their fans.#ZIMvNZ
— CricBlog ✍ (@cric_blog) July 24, 2025
I don’t think @ZimCricketv deserves any of our support until they start to take us seriously. Such mediocrity must not be tolerated at all. Someone must lose their job over such kind of performances. This will be our daily bread if no one is held accountable. #ZIMvNZ
— Max Fury🇿🇼 (@maxwell_tembo) July 24, 2025
A career-best 4-wicket haul from Ish Sodhi (4-12) saw New Zealand claim a 60-run win in the final round-robin match of the Tri-Series.
Scorecard | https://t.co/0hMDEom5eE
Highlights will be available at Three📺
📷 = Zimbabwe Cricket #ZIMvNZ #CricketNation pic.twitter.com/rEgJKl8ixH— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) July 24, 2025
150th T20I wicket for Ish Sodhi.
Can he be the first ever to reach 200 wickets in this format ? Well, the Race is between him and Rashid Khan.
— Varun Giri (@Varungiri0) July 24, 2025
Ish Sodhi Congratulations on an incredible milestone! 150 T20 wickets is a fantastic achievement Well done! Your consistency and skill have brought you to this remarkable achievement.”@BLACKCAPS
— Mehran (@mehran_821) July 24, 2025
Tony Munyonga’s T20 batting has really improved! #ZIMvNZ
— Tonderayi Machiridza (@tonde_machi) July 24, 2025
Embarrassing performance from Zim today…Changes from the top down are needed,no amount of window dressing will solve this #ZimvNZ
— Gari (@ElvisGChivasa) July 24, 2025
Our boys can’t field, can’t play spin at all. So what are we good at really?🤷🏽♂️ #ZIMvNZ
— Max Fury🇿🇼 (@maxwell_tembo) July 24, 2025
150th T20I Wicket for Ish Sodhi! 🔥
Ish Sodhi has reached a special milestone during the T20I Tri-Series game against Zimbabwe, picking up his 150th T20I wicket for New Zealand! 🏏💥
With this, he becomes just the second BlackCap to achieve this feat, following in the footsteps… pic.twitter.com/RzfHeByDaS
— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) July 24, 2025
