Australia vs Zimbabwe 3rd ODI Full Commentary

Welcome back for the second essay. Sikandar Raza leads his men out onto the park. They are followed by the two Aussie openers, Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh. Blessing Muzarabani has the new ball in hand and is raring to go. Marsh to take strike. There is a slip in place. Let's play...

... THE RUN CHASE ...

Balanced Aussie attack limits the late charge - On the bowling front, Australia’s disciplined attack and clinical execution ensured the hosts could not run away with the game during the death overs. Out of the regular bowlers, the relentless Nathan Ellis was the pick of the bunch, dismantling the hosts' momentum to finish with impressive figures of 3 wickets. He received excellent support from left-arm quick Spencer Johnson and spin wizard Adam Zampa, who both extracted great value from the dry surface to pick up 2 crucial wickets each and keep the chase highly manageable. The target doesn't look particularly threatening for this deep Australian batting unit, but you never know in cricket. If Zimbabwe can pick up a few early wickets, they can really put Australia under pressure. We will be back with the chase in a bit.

Kaia's injury halts momentum - The cornerstone of the Zimbabwean innings was a special, fighting knock of unbeaten 81 from captain Sikandar Raza, who was brilliantly complemented by two other half-centurions to lay down a rock-solid foundation. Earlier, a flourishing 4th-wicket partnership between Innocent Kaia and Craig Ervine had put the team in complete control, ticking along beautifully with an 80-run stand off just 87 deliveries. However, disaster struck when Kaia was forced to retire hurt after severely straining his hamstring. From that exact moment, the innings lost its upward trajectory, and the lower order faltered to finish on 271.

Zimbabwe post 271 - The hosts will undoubtedly feel they left quite a few runs out in the middle after comfortably sitting at 209 for 3. It was yet another collective batting effort from the Chevrons where multiple players promised a lot with solid starts, but nobody could anchor long enough with a truly defining individual hundred. While three separate batters raised their bats for half-centuries, the lack of a massive, explosive milestone ultimately prevented them from breaching the elusive 300-run mark in this third ODI.

That's a wrap - Mitchell Marsh picks up the trophy from Tavengwa Mukuhlani, the newly appointed Deputy Chairperson of the ICC and Chairman of Zimbabwe Cricket. A happy bunch of men pose with the trophy for the customary photographs. 3 hundreds for Australia but none for Zimbabwe, and that somewhere made the difference. It will be a good learning experience for the Chevrons ahead of next year's World Cup. Up next for Zimbabwe is a tour of the UAE, where they will take part in an ODI tri-series featuring Bangladesh and Afghanistan, starting on 17th October, before facing Afghanistan in a bilateral T20I and Test series. As for the Aussies, they hop over to South Africa for an ODI and Test series, with the ODI series getting underway on 24th September. That's all from us for now. Cheers and goodbye!

The skipper of Australia - Mitchell Marsh says it was a great game of cricket and feels Zimbabwe probably deserved to win, but is delighted that his side managed to get the job done in the end. On the game plan in the chase, Marsh says the approach is the same in every innings, with them looking to get off to a good start and build a couple of partnerships in the top order. Admits they were unable to do that today but managed to stitch together a partnership in the middle and got a bit lucky towards the end. On holding their nerve, Marsh says the team needs to stay calm and prove themselves as a group. He feels the way they played across the 3 matches shows they are improving, and says they pulled things back really well towards the end. Marsh adds that there are plenty of positives in the group, particularly the young talent coming through who he believes are future stars for Australia.

The captain of Zimbabwe - Sikandar Raza, on what was a good score, says that the way the ball started to turn, he thought 280, 290 would be a par total, and to make a game out of 271 was certainly a great effort. As a captain, he is really proud, and it really hurts, but there is lots to learn and rather have a game like this than the Aussies to chase it down in 40 overs. Mentions that there are a lot of positives as well, and it was the one that got away. On the wicket, he says it was a good wicket, and he expected a lot of turn, which it did, but overall it was a good wicket and, most importantly, a great game of cricket. On when he believed they were in the game, he says they were always in the game, and any new guy would have found it difficult to get going, and three to four dots would have made it difficult as well. Josh Inglis played really well through the middle and took it very well, and the difference has been that three hundreds have been scored by the Aussies and none by them, but the positive is a lot of fight was shown today, and it makes him believe they can get there. On where they lagged, he says a lot can be said, as three hundreds were scored by the Aussies and none by them, and to win an ODI game, one of the top four has to get a hundred, which Australia did, but Newman Nyamhuri has a five-for, that is a positive. Feels Blessing Muzarabani and Brad Evans bowled really well, accompanied by the spinners, and they just have to get all the components right and produce results.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH -  Josh Inglis takes home the award for his brilliant knock of 103 runs from 102 balls. Inglis says it was a difficult couple of games, and he was disappointed with his output, but is happy to finally get a score and help Australia win the game. On whether he was under pressure in this game, having not contributed much in the series, he says that he did not look at it that way and it was just about how he could help the team with the game, and that was all in his mind today. Regarding his shot selection on the ball that got him out, he says he was really batting well until then, and it was a pure lapse in concentration. Mentions that Nathan Ellis played brilliantly and Spencer did an outstanding job with the bat.

PLAYER OF THE SERIES - For scoring 150 runs and picking up 3 wickets, Cooper Connolly has been given the award. Cooper says he has been speaking to a few of the guys and trying to understand the conditions here in Zimbabwe. He adds that he trusts his processes and got his reward. On his maturity as a young player, Connolly says it is about playing more cricket and learning along the way. He adds that he has a good group around him and tries to take notes from everyone while keeping things simple and not getting too far ahead of himself. On contributing with the ball, Connolly says it is nice to make an impact and that he is simply trying to contribute as much as he can across all departments for the team.

Time for the presentation ceremony...

Raza held it all together - Across the first two games, the issue for Zimbabwe has been their inability to convert starts from their batters, and this game was no different. Brian Bennett looked promising but could not kick on, while Craig Ervine also could not turn his fifty into a bigger score. Misfortune struck Innocent Kaia, who had to retire hurt with a hamstring issue. A wobble in the final 10 overs saw Zimbabwe lose 4 wickets for 22 runs, but Sikandar Raza batted through to take his side to 271.

The game ebbed and flowed - That coincided with Inglis being starved of the strike before he brought up his 2nd ODI ton. He fell soon after, and that lifted the home side's spirits as they really sensed an opportunity. Zimbabwe had Australia at 245/9 with another 27 runs needed. They had the upper hand at that point, but could not close out the game, with Wessly Madhevere dropping Nathan Ellis in the penultimate over proving costly. Sikandar Raza turning to Madhevere took many by surprise, as leggie Graeme Cremer had been proving tough to pick for the tail.

Inglis led the way - Australia lost both openers early, but then Josh Inglis took matters into his own hands. A couple of fifty-plus stands, first with Cooper Connolly and then Alex Carey, put the tourists ahead of the curve. However, after Carey perished, Zimbabwe slowly but steadily began to claw their way back into the game by making inroads.

Heartbreak in Harare - The crowd have gone silent as Australia get across the line in a thriller. Wessly Madhevere is dejected, but it is good to see Sikandar Raza put an arm around him and console him. Australia's batting depth came to the fore as they pulled off a win from a tough spot to complete the clean sweep. Zimbabwe gave it their all and came ever so close to pulling off a famous victory, but it was a good workout for them against a strong Aussie side at home ahead of the ODI World Cup next year.

Super Over anyone? Sikandar Raza is taking his time to set the field. Long on and deep mid-wicket are still on the fence, while the rest are all up in the circle.

Who will it be to win the game for Zimbabwe? Sikandar Raza had the option of Graeme Cremer, but he has opted for Wessly Madhevere. 'I am speechless,' quips Jason Gillespie on Raza's decision. Madhevere has the perfect opportunity to redeem himself after that dropped catch. Australia need 9 runs from the final over.

Brad Evans has bowled out, as have Blessing Muzarabani and Sikandar Raza. Ernest Masuku has been given the task of bowling the penultimate over.