Bosch's Historic Five-For Powers South Africa to Record Win Over Zimbabwe

Bosch's Historic Five-For Powers South Africa to Record Win Over Zimbabwe

Corbin Bosch produced a dream all-round performance as South Africa thrashed Zimbabwe by 328 runs in Bulawayo to take a 1-0 lead in the two-Test series. Bosch followed his maiden Test century in the first innings with a scintillating five-wicket haul on day four to seal Zimbabwe’s heaviest-ever defeat in terms of runs.

Resuming with Zimbabwe struggling at 76 for 4 in their chase of a mammoth 537, Bosch made an immediate impact with the first ball of the day, dismissing Nick Welch with a vicious short delivery. That came on the back of his late strike on day three when he had Takudzwanashe Kaitano caught at third slip, leaving Zimbabwe reeling.

Sean Williams briefly resisted but his aggressive cameo of 26 off 18 was cut short when he top-edged Bosch to Kyle Verreynne. Zimbabwe collapsed to 82 for 6, losing 4 wickets for 18 runs. However, a gritty 83-run seventh-wicket stand between captain Craig Ervine and Wellington Masakadza delayed the inevitable.

Bosch finally broke the partnership just after lunch with a sharp delivery that had Ervine caught brilliantly by Tony de Zorzi at short leg for 49. He then dismissed Vincent Masekesa to complete his maiden Test five-for, returning superb figures of 5 for 43 in 12 overs. It marked a personal milestone for the 29-year-old allrounder, who became only the fifth South African to score a century and take five wickets in the same Test match.

South Africa’s dominance was built on outstanding individual contributions across both innings. Lhuan-dre Pretorius had earlier lit up the first day with a stunning 153 on debut, supported by Bosch's unbeaten 100 and Wiaan Mulder’s 147 in the second innings. Mulder also took four wickets in Zimbabwe’s first innings and played a key role with the ball again in the second.

Zimbabwe’s response was underwhelming despite Sean Williams’ 137 in the first innings. The hosts were bowled out for 251 and 208, with Codi Yusuf and Bosch sharing 16 wickets across both innings. Only Masakadza’s fighting 57 and Ervine’s resistance stood out in the second innings.

Zimbabwe’s tail did provide late entertainment. Blessing Muzarabani smashed back-to-back boundaries and a six off Dewald Brevis, before taking on Keshav Maharaj with another flurry of boundaries. But the fun ended when Brevis claimed his maiden Test wicket, having Tanaka Chivanga stumped to wrap up the innings.

Match Summary:

South Africa: 418/9 dec (Pretorius 153, Bosch 100*, Chivanga 4-83) & 369 (Mulder 147, Maharaj 51, Masakadza 4-98)
Zimbabwe: 251 (Williams 137, Mulder 4-50, Yusuf 3-42) & 208 (Masakadza 57, Bosch 5-43, Yusuf 3-22)
Result: South Africa won by 328 runs

South Africa will head into the second and final Test full of confidence, while Zimbabwe must regroup quickly to avoid a series sweep.

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