South Africa defeated Zimbabwe by 61 runs in the second One-Day Internationals (ODIs) at Bulawayo on Tuesday. With this the Proteas won the three match series with one game in hand.
It was all looking good for Zimbabwe and their skipper Elton Chigumbura when they bowled out South Africa for 257. But when they came out to bat, things started falling apart. Zimbabwe made a cautious start and all of a sudden their innings started to crumble like the house of cards as they lost 3 early wickets in quick succession. After a certain time they were 59 for five.
Sean Williams and Brendan Taylor were the only two who tried to resist the South African bowling attack. But unfortunately Taylor fell to a brilliant ball from JP Duminy and an equally good catch from David Miller. Williams put up a lonely fight since the dismissal of Taylor but it was of no use. His partners at the other end gave their wickets away. Sean Williams reached his half-century against South Africa in the second ODI at Bulawayo. He fought well with the bat for the hosts. His fifty came in 77 balls in which he hit three fours and two sixes. Zimbabwe still needed 145 runs in 15 overs. They only have four wickets in hand. They would want a miraculous innings from Williams.
In fact, South African bowlers bowled accurately and gave nothing away. Ryan Mclaren was the pick of the bowlers who picked up three wickets for only 21 runs. Parnell also impressed as well as he also picked up two wickets. JP Duminy and Aaron Phangiso picked up a wicket each. All the Proteas bowlers were economical. When Sean Williams started playing his shots, it was way too late. He could not help either as he had to keep the score board ticking.
Earlier, in the first innings, Zimbabwe put up a spirited bowling performance to bowl South Africa out for 257 in the second ODI. After a crushing defeat in the first ODI againstSouth Africa, Zimbabwe looked determined to win and square the three match series. But they should have remembered that they are climbing a huge mountain.
South Africa were bowled out before 50 overs and they only managed to put up a total of 257 runs, courtesy Zimbabwean bowlers. John Nyumbu, Prosper Utseya and Sean Williams picked up 2 wickets each and all three of them were economical. The Zimbabwean bowlers gave nothing away and kept the South African batsmen relatively quiet throughout the innings.
Brief scores:
South Africa 257 in 49.4 overs (Faf du Plessis 55, David Miller 45; Prosper Utseya 2 for 39, Sean Williams 2 for 37) beat Zimbabwe 196 in 49.1 overs (Sean Williams 55, Neville Madziva 25; Ryan McLaren 3 for 21, Wayne Parnell 3 for 28) by 61 runs.
Man of the Match: Wayne Parnell
