From 150s to first-time success: New Zealand’s memorable victory in Bulawayo by the numbers

From 150s to first-time success: New Zealand’s memorable victory in Bulawayo by the numbers

New Zealand smashed a record win as they thrashed Zimbabwe by an innings and 359 runs at Bulawayo to sweep the series 2-0. Debutant Zakary Foulkes picked 9 wickets in a match.

In terms of run-in Tests, New Zealand recently got their biggest victory in Bulawayo by scoring 359 runs against Zimbabwe. And in the world of test cricket, the third biggest innings win margin. New Zealand recorded their biggest-ever Test win, beating Zimbabwe by an innings and 301 runs their previous best also came against Zimbabwe in Napier in 2012. This defeat is now Zimbabwe’s heaviest in Test history. Interestingly, New Zealand’s top three biggest Test wins have all come against Zimbabwe.

This was only the second time New Zealand won a Test by an innings and over 300 runs, making them just the third team to do so after West Indies (three times) and Australia. Zimbabwe also became the second team to suffer such a defeat twice, both times against New Zealand.

New Zealand’s massive total of 601/3 declared is their highest ever against Zimbabwe, surpassing their 582/4 declared at the same venue in 2016. It’s also the sixth-highest total against Zimbabwe in Tests and the sixth-most runs scored by any team while losing three or fewer wickets in an innings.

Their 476-run lead after the first innings is the third-largest by any team while declaring with only three wickets down. Only India (492-run lead vs Bangladesh in 2007) and Sri Lanka (485-run lead vs Zimbabwe in 2004) have done better. This match also marked the 17th time a team has won a Test after losing three or fewer wickets.

Three New Zealand batters Devon Conway (153), Henry Nicholls (150*), and Rachin Ravindra (165*) each scored over 150 runs. This is only the third time in Test history that three batters have done so in the same innings. The previous instances were England vs Australia in 1938 and India vs Sri Lanka in 1986. New Zealand’s feat is the first by a visiting team.

Remarkably, Conway, Nicholls, and Ravindra each scored more than Zimbabwe’s total across both innings. It’s the first time three batters have outscored the opposition’s match total. The only other time New Zealand had two batters do this was in 2005, also against Zimbabwe.

Rachin Ravindra reached his 150 in just 133 balls, making it the second-fastest 150 for New Zealand in Tests. The fastest remains Brendon McCullum’s 103-ball effort against Sri Lanka in 2014. Ravindra’s knock ranks 10th overall where ball-by-ball data is available.

Zak Foulkes had a dream debut, taking 9 wickets for 75 runs New Zealand’s best match figures on Test debut. He surpassed Will O’Rourke’s 9/93 against South Africa last year. Foulkes also became the seventh Kiwi seamer and 11th overall to take a five-wicket haul on debut.

New Zealand’s seamers took all 20 Zimbabwe wickets only the second time a team has done this in Zimbabwe after Pakistan in 1995. It’s also just the fifth time New Zealand’s pacers have taken all 20 wickets in an away Test, the last being in the WTC final against India in 2021.

Debutants played a huge role, taking 13 wickets New Zealand’s highest in a single match. This broke their previous record of 12 wickets in their first-ever Test against England in 1930 and was matched again in 1961 against South Africa.

Zimbabwe’s total of 242 runs across both innings is their second-lowest at home and fifth-lowest overall in matches where they’ve been bowled out twice. Their lowest at home remains 158 runs against New Zealand in 2005.

Zimbabwe faced just 462 balls (77 overs) in the entire match their lowest at home and third-lowest overall. Only their efforts against England in 2000 (413 balls) and South Africa in 2017 (436 balls) were shorter.

The 256*-run stand between Nicholls and Ravindra is now New Zealand’s highest partnership against Zimbabwe for any wicket, beating the 253-run stand by Ross Taylor and BJ Watling in 2016 at the same venue.

New Zealand piled on 427 runs on Day 2 the third-highest total by any team in a single day of a Test in Zimbabwe. The only higher scores were South Africa’s 465 last month and New Zealand’s 452 in Harare in 2005.