McCullum mauls Zim

New Zealand were playing their first international fixture since the World Cup semifinal in March but were completely at ease at the Harare Sports Club on Saturday. Their bowlers showed plenty of discipline and few signs of rust in restricting Zimbabwe to 123 in the first of two T20 Internationals on a good batting pitch, and the opening pair, led by Brendon McCullum, ensured it was all one-way traffic with a dominating chase.
Asked to bat, Brendan Taylor said he was hoping for a score in the range of 160 but the early loss of the openers prompted the rest of the line-up to approach the innings with caution. Kyle Mills bowled consistently in the channel outside off and despite being smacked for a couple of boundaries, dislodged Hamilton Masakadza and Chamu Chibhabha in quick time. He derived a bit of movement and was aided by the aggressive intent of the openers -- Masakadza tried to loft him over mid-off but was caught while Chibhabha's blind swing produced an outside edge.
The responsibility fell on Taylor to anchor the innings and while he did that admirably, he didn't find the desired support at the other end. He rotated the strike and ran well between wickets once the field spread out but for the bulk of their innings, Zimbabwe could only maintain a run-rate of a little over six when they needed much more. Forster Mutizwa, Malcolm Waller and Charles Coventry all got starts but struggled to force the pace, and lost their wickets.
The New Zealand spinners, Luke Woodcock and Nathan McCullum, didn't find any assistance in the pitch but varied their flight, lengths and pace well to prevent Zimbabwe from stepping up. They did bowl the occasional bad balls that Taylor latched onto -- he dispatched Woodcock through the covers when he pitched short and slog-swept Nathan McCullum, who was also smashed for six by Waller. But, while Taylor took them on, they found success at the other end. Mutizwa was trapped in front; Waller and Coventry fell going for the big shots.
McCullum made them pay with a hurricane innings, backed up well by Martin Guptill. Zimbabwe missed a run-out in the first over and let off McCullum twice during his blitz, and he set about making a mockery of what their batsmen had managed. The signs were evident as early as the third over, as he charged out to Kyle Jarvis and launched him for a massive six over long-off. He showed tremendous bat speed, clipping and pulling bowlers over square leg and was perfectly at ease, making room and lofting them inside out over the covers.
SCORES IN BRIEF
ZIMBABWE: 123 for 8 (Taylor 50 not out, Mutizwa 16, Chigumbura 14; Mills 2-15, McCullum 2-17)
NEW ZEALAND: 127 without loss (McCullum 81 not out, Guptill 40 not out)
Result: New Zealand won by 10 wickets.
Man-of-the-match: Brendon McCullum.