Australia completed a 3-0 sweep of their ODI series in Zimbabwe with a nerve-shredding one-wicket win in the third match at the Harare Sports Club on September 20, after having already wrapped up the series in the second match two days earlier behind a Travis Head century. It capped a tour on which the tourists were made to work harder than the final scoreline suggests, with Zimbabwe competing deep into the chase in the decider despite having nothing left to play for.
Following Matt Renshaw's maiden century and Nathan Ellis's career-best 5 for 31 in the opener, Australia made the series safe in the second match on September 18. Travis Head blazed 112 off 84 balls as Australia posted 356 for 6, and Zimbabwe were bowled out for 272 in reply, handing the tourists an 84-run win and an unassailable 2-0 lead.
With the series already gone, Zimbabwe still competed hard in the dead-rubber third match. Half-centuries from Craig Ervine (59 off 79) and Innocent Kaia (55 off 66, retiring hurt with a hamstring injury) set up an unbeaten 81 off 72 from captain Sikandar Raza, taking the hosts to a total that gave their bowlers something to defend.
Josh Inglis made his second ODI century, an innings of 103 off 102 balls with 11 fours, but Australia still found themselves needing 27 runs from the last-wicket stand between Nathan Ellis and No. 11 Spencer Johnson. Ellis finished unbeaten on 36 off 44 — his highest ODI score — striking the winning runs to get Australia home by one wicket with a ball to spare, sealing the whitewash after Zimbabwe put down a chance to run him out earlier in the over.
A 3-0 scoreline flatters the gap between the sides less than it might suggest — Zimbabwe pushed Australia to the wire in the decider and were unlucky not to defend 271 on a surface that had earlier supported totals in excess of 350. For Australia, the series doubles as a reminder that their batting depth is genuinely deep even with senior names rested or rotated through the tour, while Zimbabwe's middle order showed enough in patches to suggest the gap is closing even if the results column still reads a clean sweep.
Australia move on to a considerably tougher assignment, with their tour of South Africa beginning with an ODI series in Durban before a three-Test series against the Proteas that runs through October and into November. Zimbabwe, meanwhile, will look to take the lessons from a closely fought decider into their next assignment, having shown in patches — Raza's captain's innings and the middle-order fifties chief among them — that they can compete with a full-strength top-eight side even while losing the series.
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Scorecards and individual figures are verified against same-day match reporting, current as of September 21, 2026.
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