New Zealand Win Thriller Despite Taylor's Ton

Bulawayo: Zimbabwe lost 7 wickets in the final session as they fell short of the target by just 34 runs. Bracewell picked up 5 wickets on debut while B Taylor was the star with the bat.

The currently unranked Zimbabwe went at the world No. 8 New Zealand mercilessly on a fifth day dripping with Test-match brilliance, but they ran out of steam dramatically after tea to lose by 34 runs. It was a crushing result for the hosts who went for a win in a situation that would have forced many of the Test elite sides to play safe.

Their spark was lit by Brendan Taylor, who hustled to his third century in seven innings. Taylor's brilliance put Zimbabwe on pole position at tea, but the game turned on its head once he exited after the break. Doug Bracewell and Daniel Vettori barged through, as Zimbabwe capsized from 265 for 3 to 331 all out, with less than six overs left in the match.

The force was with Zimbabwe at tea, with the target down to 101 off a possible 29 overs. New Zealand's shoulders had visibly slumped a little earlier, when the lack of sufficient video evidence meant a huge moment went against them. Taylor had scythed Chris Martin uppishly to deep cover where BJ Watling dived forward to scoop it inches from the ground, but it was impossible to say from the camera angles on offer whether it was a clean catch. Incredibly, Taylor holed out to the same fielder in the first over after the break, and this time Watling pouched it clearly.

Earlier, opener Tino Mawoyo was the only wicket to fall in the first session, with part-timer Martin Guptill's delivery deflecting off the thigh pad and onto the stumps.

Mawoyo's 52 had contributed to a 96-run partnership with Taylor over the first hour and a half of the day, with Mawoyo doing his best to stonewall the New Zealand bowlers while Taylor went after them at the other end.

Taylor hit four sixes and five fours in the morning session as he often came down the wicket to cart offspinner Jeetan Patel over cow corner.

He was joined after Mawoyo's departure by former captain Tatenda Taibu, who went to lunch on five not out.

Zimbabwe began the day on 61 for two in the face of a stiff target of 366, which was set by New Zealand when they declared their second innings on 252 for eight midway through the third session of day four.

Match stats

• Brendan Taylor's 117 is only the second century by a Zimbabwe batsman in the fourth innings in Tests. The only other hundred was scored by Kevin Arnott against New Zealand in 1992.
• The 108-run stand between Taylor and Tatenda Taibu is the second-highest fourth-wicket stand for Zimbabwe against New Zealand. The highest is 130 between Andy Flower and Gavin Rennie in Wellington in 2000.
• Doug Bracewell became the seventh New Zealand bowler to pick up a five-wicket haul on Test debut. It is also the fifth five-wicket haul by a bowler making his debut against Zimbabwe.
• Zimbabwe's 331 is their second 300-plus total in the fourth innings after the 310 against Pakistan in 2002. On both occasions, Zimbabwe ended up on the losing side.
• The 34-run win is the third-lowest margin of victory for New Zealand in terms of runs. The only two lower victory margins came against West Indies (27 runs) and Pakistan (32 runs).

Brief scores
New Zealand 426 (Guptill 109, Mpofu 4-92) and 252 for 8 dec (R Taylor 76, Jarvis 5-64)
Zimbabwe 313 (Sibanda 93, Vettori 5-70) and 331 (Taylor 117, Bracewell 5-85)
Result New Zealand beat Zimbabwe by 34 runs
MOM Daniel Vettori (New Zealand)