Henry’s Six-Wicket Haul and Openers’ Dominance Mark New Zealand’s Day

New Zealand ended the first day of the opening Test against Zimbabwe in a commanding position at Bulawayo’s Queens Sports Club. Matt Henry’s sensational bowling skittled Zimbabwe for just 149 in their first innings. The 33-year-old pacer claimed 6 wickets for 39 runs. In response, New Zealand batted 26 overs without losing a wicket, reaching 92, with Devon Conway unbeaten on 51 and Will Young on 41.

Winning the toss and electing to bat, Zimbabwe were rocked early by Henry’s fiery spell. Within the first half-hour, both openers, Brian Bennett and Ben Curran, fell to catches in the slips. Nathan Smith added to Zimbabwe’s woes by bowling out Sean Williams. A brief resistance from Nick Welch and captain Craig Ervine was broken before lunch when Henry dismissed Welch (27). In the second session, Sikandar Raza fell to Henry, caught by wicketkeeper Tom Blundell.

Zimbabwe’s highest scorer was Ervine with 39, supported by a 54-run partnership with Tafadzwa Tsiga. However, Smith dismissed Ervine (39) and Tsiga (30), while Henry returned to remove Newman Nyamuri and Blessing Muzarabani, wrapping up the innings. A run-out accounted for Vincent Masekesha.

**Brief Scores (End of Day 1):**  

Zimbabwe 1st Innings: 149 all out in 60.3 overs (Ervine 39, Tsiga 30, Welch 27; Henry 6/39, Smith 3/20).  

New Zealand 1st Innings: 92/0 in 26 overs (Conway 51*, Young 41*).

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