Australia captain Aaron Finch’s record-breaking 172 set up a dominant 100-run win for the Aussies against Zimbabwe in their second T20I of the tri-series in Harare.
Finch was dominant from the get-go, reaching his 50 off 22 balls, his hundred in 50 balls and his 150 in 69 balls.
The Aussie skipper and D’Arcy Short (46) strung together the highest partnership in T20I history, scoring 223 at over 11 runs per over.
The visitors could not survive the innings unblemished, however, as Blessing Muzarabani struck twice in the final over to remove Short followed by Finch after his 172 off 76 balls.
Finch now holds the record for both the highest and second-highest T20I score, after he surpassed his 156 off 63 deliveries he racked up against England in 2013.
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Zimbabwe’s reply was brave but they fell miles short of the target. They managed 129-9 in pursuit of 130 but failed to keep up with the required run rate as they slumped to their second defeat of the series.
Solomon Mire was their top scorer with 28 off 19 balls. He took his side past the 50-run mark in just under six overs.
Andrew Tye was Australia’s top wicket-taker, finishing with figures of 3-12 in his three overs. Short was the only bowler to finish wicketless, with Ashton Agar’s 2-23 being their next best bowling performance. The rest of the bowlers finished with one wicket apiece.
This was Australia’s largest margin of victory in T20Is.
Photo: Reuters/BBC
