Latest news with #Muzarabani
NDTV
4 hours ago
- Sport
- NDTV
Zimbabwe Limp To 31-2 After New Zealand Take Big Lead In 1st Test
Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell missed out on centuries but New Zealand was still in command after Day 2 of the first cricket test against Zimbabwe on Thursday. Conway made 88 and Mitchell was the last man out for 80 as the Black Caps were bowled out for 307 in their first innings. New Zealand's fast bowlers then made early inroads by removing Ben Curran (11) and Brian Bennett (18) as Zimbabwe reached 31-2 at stumps, still trailing by 127 runs. Tall paceman Blessing Muzarabani was the stand-out bowler for Zimbabwe with 3-73, and Tanaka Chivanga ignited a middle-order collapse with 2-51 before Mitchell batted well with the tail-enders to give New Zealand a clear advantage. No. 9 batter Nathan Smith braved several body blows against Muzarabani's short deliveries before he finally retired hurt for 22 due to an abdominal tear. It is highly unlikely that Smith will bowl in Zimbabwe's second innings as he walked off in pain after being struck on the body by Muzarabani. Earlier, Zimbabwe couldn't have asked for a better start when Muzarabani had Will Young (41) caught at forward short leg off the first ball. Nick Welch moved timely to his left and grabbed a stunning one-handed catch to dismiss Young before Henry Nicholls (34) and Conway produced a 66-run stand. Both left-handed batters were briefly troubled by pace bowler Newman Nyamhuri, when edges fell short of the fielders behind the wicket, before Conway lifted New Zealand past Zimbabwe's first-innings score of 149 with a straight-driven boundary off Nyamhuri. Nicholls, playing his first test since Dec. 2023, completed 3,000 test runs when he reached 27 but gifted his wicket when he slashed Muzarabani straight to Bennett at gully. Sikandar Raza got some turn from the pitch and accounted for Rachin Ravindra (2), when captain Craig Ervine caught him at the second attempt as the lone slip. Conway was fluent with his driving, especially on the off side, bisecting the fielders against anything over-pitched by Zimbabwe's fast bowlers. But Conway, who hit a dozen boundaries, fell soon after lunch when Chivanga's short ball got big on him and Bennett took a smart head-high catch at gully. The fast bowler followed up with the wicket of Tom Blundell (2), who holed out at deep square leg. Nyamhuri (1-64) finally ended New Zealand's innings when Mitchell went for an over-ambitious ramp shot and got his middle stump uprooted off a full pitched delivery. The two-match series is not part of the World Test Championship, but it is the first test between the two nations since 2016.
TimesLIVE
28-06-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Proteas rocked by Zimbabwean seamers in Bulawayo
Zimbabwe stunned neighbours South Africa on the first morning of the opening Test in Bulawayo, picking up four wickets to claim the ascendancy at lunch. The newly crowned World Test champions were 90/4 at the interval, with Zimbabwe's two seamers Tanaka Chivanga and Blessing Muzarabani dominating the Proteas batters. Debutants Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Dewald Brevis will resume after the break, with the former, who counterattacked superbly, on 44 and Brevis, who looked tense, on 10. Zimbabwe's captain Craig Ervine wasn't displeased when Keshav Maharaj won the toss and chose to bat. The Proteas stand-in skipper felt there would be assistance for the seamers in the first hour, but that his side — containing three debutants and missing seven players who won the Test mace at Lord's — could make progress once the surface dried and the ball softened. But it was soon clear why Ervine was so relaxed about bowling, with Muzarabani, extracting movement and prodigious bounce to trouble both of the SA openers. Tony de Zorzi was lucky to survive the first over, and was dropped by Sean Williams off the fourth ball of the match at second slip. But the 23 minutes De Zorzi spent at the crease made for painful viewing. He struggled against the steepling bounce from Muzarabani and when Zimbabwe eventually switched to Chivanga after two overs from spinner Wellington Masakadza, they finally gained reward. An edge, off the 16th ball De Zorzi faced, was taken at third slip by Brian Bennett and from there the hosts dominated the rest of the first hour. Matthew Breetzke, after making a first ball duck on debut in Bangladesh last year, would have been thrilled to get off the mark in Test cricket, but having played one lovely cover drive, then also edged Chivanga to Bennett after scoring 13. David Bedingham lasted just three balls, and like Breetzke was undone by the extra bounce from Chivanga, edging to first slip where Ervine took a comfortable catch. Pretorius arrived at the crease, and almost immediately changed the momentum of the SA innings, charging down the wicket to Masakadza and smashing his fourth ball for six over long-off. His next delivery he thumped through the covers for four and Zimbabwe were forced on the defensive by the teenager. A partnership of 32 with Wiaan Mulder provided some respite, but then Mulder, who was looking comfortable in what was just his fifth innings in the no.3 spot was stupidly run out by Muzarabani for 17. He hesitated when called through for a single by Pretorius, for what was a risky single given the circumstances of the SA innings. However the lanky Muzarabani also deserves credit for reaching the ball quickly in his follow-through and then accurately throwing down the stumps. Brevis' first runs were fortuitous — an inside edge past the stumps against Masakadza, but he, like his provincial teammate Pretorius, looked to take the attack to the Zimbabweans. Pretorius was the beneficiary of good fortune on 30, when an edge that was clearly audible on the stump mic wasn't heard by umpire Richard Illingworth, much to the chagrin of the Zimbaweans. One of the fielders could clearly be heard telling Pretorius that he has 'to walk for those,' but the youngster was unmoved and even shared his own thoughts with the opposition. Because of costs, Zimbabwe Cricket hasn't been able to install the technology needed for the Decision Review System. The hosts will also regret not picking a third seamer, having seen how much assistance there was for Muzarabani and Chivanga.
Times of Oman
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Times of Oman
Records galore for England as Root blazes his way to become fastest to 13,000 Test runs
Nottingham: England's flamboyant Joe Root shattered South Africa's legendary Jacques Kallis' record for the fastest to 13,000 Test runs and took a step closer towards dethroning India's legendary Sachin Tendulkar from the summit of the highest-run scorer in the format during the opening day of their one-off fixture against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge. In a high-scoring opening day where England's top-order tormented the tourists, Root wasn't at his best and notched 34 before surrendering his wicket to Blessing Muzarabani. In his 153rd match, Root stepped on the crease, 28 runs shy of the milestone. In the 80th over of England's first innings, he sprinted for a single off Victor Nyauchi to breeze past the iconic Proteas all-rounder's record, who scripted the milestone to his name in the 159th match, six more than what Root took. The 34-year-old's exploits came to an end courtesy of Zimbabwe's short-ball ploy. Muzarabani hit the deck and lured the English star to pull the ball away. Root couldn't control the trajectory and holed it straight to Sean Williams. As he returned to the dressing room, wondering if he had left runs on the field, Root became just the fifth batter to cross 13,000 runs in Test format. After adding another feather to his cap, Root stands 2,916 runs away from Sachin's elusive tally of 15,921. Throughout the opening day, Zimbabwe, hot on the heels after a Test win over Bangladesh, were tormented by England's 'Bazball' playing top-order after opting to bowl on a dry surface. Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley pounced on every loose delivery under Nottingham's cloudy skies. At exactly run a ball, Duckett brought up his fifth Test hundred. Crawley arrived at the three-digit mark for the first time since July 2023 and 28 innings ago. Crawley and Duckett expressed their knack for runs and raised a rollicking opening stand worth 231, England's highest at home since 1960. After Wesley Madhevere confirmed Duckett's departure, Ollie Pope arrived and added the trimmings with his third hundred in as many games at Trent Bridge. England ended the day with 498/3 on the board, the highest they have in England on the opening day. At stumps, Pope stayed unbeaten on 169 from 163 deliveries as England welcomed Zimbabwe on their soil after 22 years with a bashing.
Mint
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Mint
Eng vs Zim: Blessing Muzarabani makes big impact before joining Royal Challengers Bengaluru for IPL 2025 playoffs
Blessing Muzarabani has made an impact even before joining his Royal Challengers Bengaluru teammates in the Indian Premier League after he snapped three important wickets in the ongoing one-off Test match. The fast bowler picked the big wickets of Joe Root, Ben Stokes, and Harry Brooke in the one-off four-day Test match between Zimbabwe and England at Trent Bridge. England batted first at Trent Bridge and amassed a mammoth 565/6 before declaring their first innings. The home side has three centurions with the top three batters all notching up tons. Openers Zak Crawley (124) and Ben Duckett (140) put up an opening stand of 231 before Harry Brook (171) put on a batting masterclass to power England to a big total in 96.3 overs. Muzarabani was Zimbabwe's pick of the bowlers as he picked up 3/143 in 24.3 overs. The Bengaluru side roped in Muzarabani earlier this week as a replacement for their star South African bowler Lungi Ngidi. The 28-year-old Zimbabwean will join RCB for ₹ 75 Lakh and will link up with the squad after the ongoing Test for the IPL 2025 playoffs. RCB needed a fast bowler as Ngidi will link up with his South Africa teammates ahead of the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia, which begins June 11 at the iconic Lord's cricket ground. "Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have picked Blessing Muzarabani as a replacement for Lungisani Ngidi, who will leave to join South Africa for national duties," IPL stated in a release. "The replacement will be effective from May 26, 2025," it added further. Muzarabani will not be eligible to be retained ahead of next year's IPL as he is only a temporary replacement. RCB will play SRH later today, in Lucknow, in their penultimate league fixture before closing out against the Lucknow Super Giants on May 27, Tuesday. RCB play both fixtures at the Ekana Cricket stadium in Lucknow. Stay updated on all the action from the IPL 2025. Check the IPL 2025 Schedule, track the latest IPL 2025 Points Table, and follow the top performers with the Orange Cap and Purple Cap.
Times
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Times
Money talks — don't expect worst team to tour England to get another trip
How long was it before the realisation dawned that this was not an equal contest, that it was men against boys, seasoned Test match campaigners against wannabes? Five, six, seven overs? Ben Duckett got himself up and running with a brace of boundaries off Blessing Muzarabani in the eighth over; after that England never looked back. It was help-yourself time for the batsmen, and they duly helped themselves, a task made even easier by an injury to Richard Ngarava, who did not bowl again after lunch. At no stage did this feel like a truly competitive match. Unlike most England Test matches, too, it will have next to no influence on future planning. How can it when it is the equivalent of playing — at
