Taylor became the first Zimbabwe batsman to score back-to-back ODI hundreds, and while he rescued his team from 83 for four in the 25th over, he watched helplessly as his bowlers once again struggled to take wickets, primarily because his fielders dropped as many as four catches.
New Zealand, for the most part, were clinical on either side of Taylor’s century and secured the series 2-0 with one to play. Their disciplined seam attack forced a cautious start from Zimbabwe after which the increasing pressure to score yielded several wickets and allowed them only 259 despite Taylor’s strong finish.
New Zealand’s batsmen were not as untroubled during the chase as in previous matches but Martin Guptill launched and then anchored the innings with his second ODI century. He had Brendon McCullum, who benefited from all four dropped catches to score 87, for company during a 157-run partnership.
Though New Zealand lost three wickets for 16 runs and stuttered late in the innings, the top order had already done enough to prevent a shock Zimbabwe win.
Zimbabwe’s bowlers faced a familiar struggle. They had taken a total of three wickets in two Twenty20s and the first ODI, and they were able to take only one in the first 37 overs of New Zealand’s chase.— Cricinfo.
