Key Points

England comprehensively defeated Zimbabwe in the Only Test at Nottingham, with young off-spinner Shoaib Bashir being the standout performer. Bashir's remarkable bowling figures of 9-143 in the match, including 6-81 in the second innings, were instrumental in England's victory. The home team had earlier posted a massive 565-6 declared, with significant contributions from Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, and Ollie Pope. Additionally, Joe Root achieved a remarkable milestone by becoming the fastest batter to reach 13,000 Test runs during the match.

Key Points: Bashir's 9-Wicket Haul Seals England's Massive Zimbabwe Test Win

  • Bashir claims stunning 9-143 match haul with 6-81 in second innings
  • England declared at massive 565-6 with big hundreds from Crawley, Duckett, Pope
  • Joe Root reaches 13,000 Test runs milestone in historic performance
2 min read

Bashir claims 6-81 as England hand Zimbabwe massive defeat in Only Test

Young spinner Shoaib Bashir dominates as England crush Zimbabwe by an innings and 45 runs in comprehensive Nottingham Test victory

"Bashir took charge of the proceedings and bundled out Zimbabwe - Match Commentary"

Nottingham, May 25

Young off-spinner Shoaib Bashir claimed 6/81 in completing a match haul of 9/143 as England bundled out Zimbabwe for 255 to complete a massive innings and 45 runs victory in the Only Test of the tour here on Saturday.

Having posted a massive 565/6 declared on the back of big hundreds by Zak Crawley (124), Ben Duckett (140) and Ollie Pope (171), England had bundled out Zimbabwe for 265 in 63.2 overs despite Brian Bennett's 139 off 143, laced with 26 fours.

On Saturday's third day of the match, Zimbabwe started their second innings at the overnight score of 30/2 with Sean Williams batting on 22 and Ben Curran on 2. They added 122 runs for the third wicket before Williams got out for 88 runs off 82 balls, hitting 16 fours in the process. He became Bashir's first victim of the day, trapped LBW.

With Bashir taking charge of the proceedings, England bundled out Zimbabwe for 255 in their second innings to seal victory.

Sikandar Raza waged a lone battle, scoring 60 off 68 balls while Wessly Madhevere contributed 31. Bashir, who had claimed 3-62 in the first innings, finished with 6/81 in 18 overs for a match haul of 9-143 as England romped to victory.

Earlier, on the opening day of the match, Experienced batter Joe Root scored 34 on the opening day of the lone Test against Zimbabwe and in the process became the fastest batter to reach 13,000 runs in red-ball cricket on Thursday. Root reached the milestone of 13,000 runs, becoming only the fifth batter ever to do so in his 153rd Test, scoring 13,006 runs in 279 innings at an average of 50.80. He has scored 36 hundreds and 65 half-centuries with a highest score of 262.

Brief scores:

England 565/6 decl beat Zimbabwe 265 and 255 all out in 59 overs (Sean Williams 88, Zikandar Raza 60, Ben Curran 37; Shoaib Bashir 6-81) by innings and 42 runs.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

R
Rahul K.
What a performance by young Bashir! 9 wickets in the match is outstanding for a debutant. England's spin department looks strong now with him and Leach. Zimbabwe showed some fight with Bennett's century but Test cricket is a different beast altogether. 🇮🇳🤝🏏
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Priya M.
While England dominated, Zimbabwe's Brian Bennett played a brilliant knock - 139 off just 143 balls! Shows the talent is there, they just need more exposure to top-level cricket. ICC should arrange more Test matches for associate nations.
A
Arjun S.
Joe Root becoming fastest to 13,000 runs is incredible! But honestly, with Zimbabwe's bowling attack, this was more like a practice match for England. They should play more competitive teams to make Test cricket interesting.
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Sanjana T.
Bashir's performance reminds me of our own young spinners like Ravi Bishnoi. England's investment in young talent is paying off. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe needs to work on their bowling - conceding 565 runs is unacceptable at Test level 😬
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Vikram J.
Good to see Test cricket being played between full members and associates, but the gap is still too big. Maybe ICC can introduce a two-tier system with promotion/relegation to make matches more competitive. What say?
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Neha P.
Sean Williams played a captain's knock in the second innings. Zimbabwe showed some character after the first innings collapse. More such matches will help them improve. Cricket needs strong teams from Africa too, not just Asia and England/Aus!

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