Centuries from Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls and Rachin Ravindra gave impetus to New Zealand to achieve their highest total against Zimbabwe, giving them a dominating 476-run first-innings lead in the second Test.
With the announcement still to come and majority of batting still in reserve, the hosts look set to pile on further misery for a weary opposition on a flat surface, with three days left in the game.
Three members of New Zealand’s line-up made strong statements ahead of the next World Test Championship cycle. Conway reached 2000 Test runs and notched his fifth century, ending a drought of two-and-a-half years and 32 innings since his last hundred against Pakistan in January 2023. Nicholls marked his return to the XI after being left out for all of 2024 with his tenth century, while Ravindra blasted his third and fastest ton off just 104 balls.
Zimbabwe’s bowling figures made for grim reading, with Blessing Muzarabani, Trevor Gwandu and Vincent Masekesa all conceding over a hundred runs. They were also the only wicket-takers among the seven bowlers used, though Gwandu’s scalp came on the first day. The visitors have so far sent down 130 overs in the match, including 91 on the second day.
New Zealand resumed on 174 for 1 in cold conditions, already 49 runs ahead. Zimbabwe failed to capitalise on any help from the overheads, with the first ball of the day short and wide – Conwaycut it for four, setting the tone. Jacob Duffy, the nightwatchman, survived a couple of short balls from Tanaka Chivanga before falling to Muzarabani after a 62-run stand with Conway. The dismissal brought Nicholls to the crease, and Zimbabwe had to wait 30 overs for their next breakthrough.
Nicholls started slowly with nine runs off his first 25 balls before dispatching a Masekesa full toss to the square-leg boundary. He dominated the spinners, taking 96 runs off Zimbabwe’s four slower bowlers. By lunch, New Zealand had reached 306 for 2, with a lead of 181.
The second new ball brought a rare success for Zimbabwe when Conway, on 150, shouldered arms to a back-of-a-length delivery from Muzarabani that struck his body and deflected onto the stumps. Nicholls, however, continued unfazed, while Ravindra began cautiously before accelerating, taking three boundaries off Muzarabani in one over.
By tea, the lead had swelled to 302, and the final session saw both batters push on. Nicholls brought up his century with a flick through mid-on for three, while Ravindra surged to 75 with a flurry of boundaries. Although the scoring slowed briefly, Ravindra worked his way to his hundred before hammering Sikandar Raza through extra cover for four. With milestones achieved and the team total passing 500, the pair played freely, adding 88 runs in the last 11 overs of the day. Both Nicholls and Ravindra joined Conway in reaching 150, making it just the third time in Test history that three batters in an innings had passed the landmark. Their unbroken stand leaves Zimbabwe bracing for another long and punishing day in the field as their winless run looks set to continue.
