In the second ODI, which took place at the Harare Sports Club on March 23, Zimbabwe beat the Netherlands by one run. The home team won by scrambling a run out on the last ball of the game. With one game left in the series, the score is now 1-1. Earlier, Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine won the toss and chose to bat first. The home team scored 271, which was a good score.
The Netherlands couldn’t win when they had to get 272 to win. They were all out after 50 overs with 270 runs. The visitors couldn’t reach their goal because they needed 19 runs in the last over and had already lost nine wickets. No. 10 Ryan Klein of the Netherlands started the last over by hitting a four. No. 11 was Fred Klaassen, and he then hit a two, a single, and another two off the next three balls.
Then Klaassen hit a six, so the Netherlands needed a four on the last ball to win. He tried to get a third run on the last delivery, but Brad Evans and Tendai Chatara worked together to run him out, and Zimbabwe tied the three-match ODI series 1-1.
Earlier, during the Netherlands’ turn at bat, Zimbabwe spinner Wessly Madhevere took three wickets. In the 44th over, the first ball he bowled got Colin Ackermann (28), who was batting, stumped. He then dismissed Teja Nidamanuru and Paul van Meekeren for golden ducks. He was also named Player of the Game.
The hat trick scored by the 22-year-old is the 50th in ODIs and the third by a player from Zimbabwe.
In the first innings, Zimbabwe’s Sean Williams and Clive Madande, who batted as the wicketkeeper, both had great half-centuries. This helped the home team score 271 runs in 49.2 overs. Williams hit 77 runs with 73 balls, and Madande added 52 runs with 57 balls.
While this was going on, Zimbabwe’s best player, Sikandar Raza, and Brad Evans were both out after two balls. Shariz Ahmad took five wickets for the Netherlands. He got rid of Raza and Evans, among others. Paul van Meekeren and Colin Ackermann both picked up two, and Ryan Klein got one.