The opening day of the first Check between Zimbabwe and New Zealand at Bulawayo on July 30, 2025, unfolded as a story of full domination by the guests. Keen crowds witnessed the guests stamp their authority with a scientific show, led by Matt Henry’s thunderous six-wicket haul that dismantled Zimbabwe for simply 149. By stumps, New Zealand, effortlessly led by unbeaten openers Devon Conway and Will Younger, regarded primed for full management. The day belonged to tempo, precision, and poise — with Henry the plain hero.
Matt Henry’s six-fer shatters Zimbabwe
From the very outset, Henry was merely unplayable. With a touch of motion off the Bulawayo floor and the best mix of aggression and self-discipline, Henry made swift inroads. His masterful show started within the second over, eradicating Brian Bennett, and shortly Ben Curran succumbed, each courtesy of Henry’s probing strains. Not one of the Zimbabwean batters checked out ease as he relentlessly attacked the stumps and invited edges.
By lunch, Henry had two key wickets, and because the day wore on, he grew more and more menacing. The spotlight was his demolition of the Zimbabwean center order: Sikandar Raza was out for simply 2, and his supply to take away Newman Nyamhuri was a stunner. As wickets tumbled, Henry appeared to be on a private mission; he wrapped up the tail to complete with sensational figures of 6 for 39 from 15.3 overs. His variations in seam place and the persistent size have been merely an excessive amount of for Zimbabwe to face up to. The house aspect managed simply 149 in 60.3 overs — with Henry celebrating his title amongst New Zealand’s most interesting Check spells.
Openers shine on Day 1 as New Zealand take early management towards Zimbabwe
If Henry delivered the thunder, New Zealand’s openers responded with the calm after the storm. Devon Conway and Will Younger walked out with an air of quiet confidence and shortly reasserted the vacationers’ ascendency. Unfazed by the early motion and bowler-friendly situations, the pair batted with composure and ability. Conway, elegant as at all times, raced to a 50 off 83 balls, peppering the outfield with eight elegant boundaries. On the opposite finish, Younger confirmed steely grit, reaching 41 not out by stumps.
Their opening stand of 92 not solely erased the deficit considerably however additional demoralized an already bruised Zimbabwean assault. The Kiwis confirmed an ideal mix of persistence and calculated strokeplay, managing 92 runs in simply 26 overs with out shedding a wicket, trailing Zimbabwe by solely 57 runs with all ten wickets intact.
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Right here’s how followers reacted:
Since 2023 , Matt Henry has extra worldwide wickets than another pacer on this planetpic.twitter.com/9KDY64IryN
— AdityaRRaj (@RR_for_LIFE) July 31, 2025
🚨A CLASSIC SPELL BY MATT HENRY…!!!
Probably the greatest within the enterprise in final 2 years. pic.twitter.com/xcZkLkGIKw
— Rakesh yadav (@Yadavrakesh63) July 31, 2025
Matt Henry breathes fireplace to rattle Zimbabwe on the opening day in Bulawayo 🔥#ZIMvNZ 📝: https://t.co/C8GPrhHOkc
📸: @BLACKCAPS pic.twitter.com/rVOTcaLSiW
— ICC (@ICC) July 31, 2025
Matt Henry in worldwide cricket over the past three years, excluding the present take a look at.
74 take a look at wickets at 20.36
55 ODI wickets at 23.98
30 T20I wickets at 18.70Additionally averages 17.73 with the bat in assessments throughout this era.
An elite performer for the @BLACKCAPS https://t.co/ZighrdTQUp
— Adam Bell 🇳🇿🇮🇹 (@AdamKerrBell) July 31, 2025
Matt Henry bowled very well right now and hope Younger will get his maiden take a look at century tomorrow
— Akshith Jha (@AkshithJha88423) July 30, 2025
🏏 ZIM vs NZ – Day 1 Stumps
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe all out for 149
🔥 Matt Henry: 6/39 | Nathan Smith: 3/20🇳🇿 New Zealand cruise to 92/0
🧊 Will Younger: 41* (69)
🧊 Conway: 51* (87)👉 Kiwis path by simply 57 runs with 10 wickets in hand – dominant begin!#ZIMvsNZ #MattHenry #DevonConway… pic.twitter.com/fhCdbDTsGo
— Movie To Finale (@FilmtoFinale) July 30, 2025
At the moment, Matt Henry is among the many Prime 3 finest All Format Pacers… 🔥
Henry can be one of many Most Costly Abroad placers within the subsequent IPL Public sale.🫰 pic.twitter.com/ceszFxVGHl
— Pratyush Halder (@pratyush_no7) July 30, 2025
One other day, one other very good spell from Matt Henry – 6/39 towards Zimbabwe within the first Check#nzvszim pic.twitter.com/7e57liFGmM
— Rana Ahmed (@RanaAhm01973563) July 30, 2025
Matt Henry vs Zimbabwe within the first innings of the primary Check:
Overs – 15.3
Maidens – 3
Runs – 39
Wickets – 6What a spell from the present finest bowler of this era in all codecs. 💥💥#MattHenry #ZIMvNZ #ZIMvsNZ pic.twitter.com/xmDHnwxKMa
— Jitendra Kumar (@jitenda60203698) July 30, 2025
126 wickets, Common of 28.73 in Checks
– 165 wickets, Common of 24.81 in ODIs
– 37 wickets, Economic system Charge of 8.32 in T20IsMATT HENRY, THE MAN FOR NEW ZEALAND 🎯 pic.twitter.com/x2iprYDLJv
— Harkishan Mahedele (@mahedele20181) July 30, 2025
New Zealand in management in Bulawayo after a ruthless bowling show 💪
Matt Henry went full menace mode as he ripped via Zimbabwe with 6/39 🔥 Zimbabwe bundled out for simply 149
Kiwis dominating early and dictating the circulate of the sport with ending Day 1 at 92-0. 🏏… pic.twitter.com/vmT4HckGM9
— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) July 30, 2025
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