As the hosts trounced Zimbabwe by five wickets with more than 16 overs to spare in the opening One-day International here on Sunday, opener David Warner's half-century and patient unbeaten 48 from Steve Smith more than made up for another underwhelming performance from Australia captain Aaron Finch.
Underdogs With opener Tadiwanashe Marumani scoring 45 and middle order batsman Wessly Madhevere scoring 72 in the team's final score of 200 in 47.3 overs, Zimbabwe did shown the bravery to stand up to the Australian spinners.
It demonstrated that Zimbabwe has a talented hitter to build their top-order around in the future. It was the 21-year-old Madhevere's highest score in his 23 ODI games to date.
However, tall Australian all-rounder Cameron Green continued tormenting the opposition, recording 5/33, while Steve Smith made a spectacular outfield grab to keep Zimbabwe's total within reach.
Former Australia captain Smith, 33, displayed exceptional athleticism to take a superb catch off Adam Zampa's delivery while running backwards from mid-off and sprinting against the ball's trajectory. Smith's catch helped to eliminate Zimbabwean batter Tony Munyonga.
With Zimbabwe cruising at the moment at 104/2 in the 25th over and looking like it may reach a large score, it was a crucial breakthrough for the Australians. Green then sealed the job for the hosts, scooping up his maiden five-wicket haul in international cricket.
The home team was able to reach the victory target in 33.3 overs thanks to Warner's leadership and the contributions of Smith and Glenn Maxwell (32 not out).
It increased Australia's prospects of immediately qualifying for the World Cup in India next year by giving them a critical 10 points in the Super League standings. With 80 points after 13 games played, Australia is presently ninth in the standings, while Zimbabwe is in last place with only 35 points after 19 games.
The top eight teams will receive direct access into the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023, while the other countries must compete in a qualifying against five Associate nations to gain entry.
Brief scores: Zimbabwe 200 in 47.3 overs (Tadiwanashe Marumani 45, Wessly Madhevere 72; Cameron Green 5/33, Adam Zampa 3/57) lost to Australia 201/5 in 33.3 overs (David Warner 57, Steven Smith 48 not out) by five wickets.