England won an innings and 45 runs over Zimbabwe in their one-off Test match at Trent Bridge on Saturday, fulfilling the victory within three days despite facing strong resistance from the underdog.The match acts as a preparation for England’s upcoming five-observant chains against India starting on June 20.England announced their innings at 565–6, while Zimbabwe was dismissed for 265 and 255 respectively. England’s first day performance was particularly prominent, scoring 498–3, which was his first day in a home test.Zimbabwe faced early shaking when his seamor Richard Narwawa faced back cramps after just bowling just nine overs in a day, which reduced him a bowler for the remaining part of the match.Brian Bennett’s first century offered hope for Zimbabwe on Friday, followed by an impressive performance by Sean Williams on Saturday that temporarily challenged England’s bowling strategy.
Williams’ promising innings ended at 88 from 82 balls after a video review, facing off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, while the ball was barely shown touching the leg stump.Quiz: Who is that IPL player?Zimbabwe’s resistance weakened after Williams departure before lunch. Despite the Quick-Fire 60 of 60 runs off 68 balls of Sikander Raza, the team lost their last six wickets for 109 runs.
Shoaib Bashir emerged as a standout bowler, claimed 6–81 in the innings and achieved figures of the best match of his 9–143 career. The performance marked his fourth five wicket race in Test cricket.The match marked Zimbabwe’s return to test cricket against England after a interval of 22 years. Despite the significant differences of defeat, Zimbabwe’s performance showed more flexibility than the final scorline, especially given that he played most matches with a bowler.
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