Isabelle Gaze, Amelia Kerr power New Zealand to series-clinching win

For the second time in three days, New Zealand's top order fired to blank out Zimbabwe, as the hosts took a 2-0 lead in the three-match WT20I series on Friday (February 27).

Captain Amelia Kerr was one of the headline-grabbers, looking set at one point to breach the 100-mark once again, but fell for 82 off 52. Isabella Gaze, with whom she shared a 159-run stand in the first game, outscored her with a career-best 85* (54). New Zealand managed 196 for 1, although at 146/0 in 14 overs, they would have hoped for more.

With opener Georgia Plimmer ruled out, Gaze got a chance to team up with Kerr once more, having played second-fiddle during the skipper's 51-ball ton on Wednesday. That partnership had set up the game for New Zealand, and the innings unfolded in a largely similar manner.

To start with, Zimbabwe's seamers were wayward on either side of the stumps. Gaze had struggled with her timing a bit in the first game, but on Friday, she took on the role of the aggressor.

Kerr was the silent partner through the Powerplay, ambling to 14 off 18 while Gaze kept finding gaps. At the end of six overs, she had already collected eight fours. As soon as the Powerplay was over, Zimbabwe switched to their spinners, but barring a slight dip, the openers continued to power through untroubled.

Both batters used their feet well, with Kerr particularly employing the sweep to good effect. She finally switched gears in the 10th over with four fours, ticking off her sixth 40+ score in a row in WT20Is. She didn't hit a single six during her hundred the other day; but her second fifty of the series came with an exquisitely flicked six over deep-square leg, the only one of the game.

In fact, her brilliance only amplified thereafter: through the 14th and 15th over, she toyed with the field, sweeping both behind and in front of square, but also slightly adjusting in her crease to play the inside-out drives over cover. Zimbabwe had few answers, and were plagued further by a scratchy fielding display, quite unlike their tight ground fielding in the first T20I.

Gaze's innings was highlighted by her backing of conventional strokes to start with, using her feet against seamers and playing down the ground frequently, challenging the leg-side fielders and running hard. Only when she was firmly in control did she bring out the reverse-sweeps, collecting a couple of boundaries.

"I looked at the way Melie played in the first game," she later said, "and looked at aggression at the top of the order. She has so much experience, so much to learn from her".

After Kerr's departure, New Zealand seemingly slowed down a bit, with a flurry of slower balls in the 20th over by Adel Zimunu ensuring they stayed under 200.

But once again, Zimbabwe were never really in the chase.

Rattled by the loss of Nyasha Gwanzura three balls in, they stayed in survival mode. Soon after, Bree Illing cut one through Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano's defences. It gave the hosts the freedom to employ Nensi Patel's off-spin in the Powerplay itself, complementing Jess Kerr's early swing.

Beloved Biza, the 17-year-old who impressed with a composed 49* last game, could not really get going, making the folly of taking on Amelia Kerr off her second ball, offering an easy catch at midwicket.

The innings continued to meander along, and while Zimbabwe picked up the odd boundary, they kept drifting away from the required run-rate. Unlike the first game though, they couldn't stretch their defiance to 20 overs, with just two batters managing to get into double-digits.

The one-game old Nensi had an agonising wait for her first wicket: there were two drops off her bowling in the 10th over. Her teammates put their arms around her shoulder as they paused for drinks, after which her accuracy finally bore fruit, finishing with tidy figures of 2-11.

Seamer Kayley Knight, on debut, also maintained a tight stump-to-stump channel, going back with a couple of wickets. Eventually, Zimbabwe lost steam and folded for 86, giving the hosts their second-biggest win by runs (110), also sealing the series.

Brief scores: New Zealand Women 196/1 in 20 overs (Isabella Gaze 85*, Amelia Kerr 82, Nyasha Gwanzura 1-40) beat Zimbabwe Women 86 all out in 18.3 overs (Chiedza Dhururu 20, Kelis Ndhlovu 19, Nensi Patel 2-11, Jess Kerr 2-17) by 110 runs.