9th wicket partnership record in ODI: The Zimbabwean pacers guided the team to a respectable innings total today.
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During the first ODI of the ongoing India’s tour of Zimbabwe in Harare, Zimbabwe fast bowlers Brad Evans (33*) and Richard Ngarava (34) put together a 70-run ninth-wicket partnership to prevent an embarrassing innings total.
Reduced to 110/8 in the 29th over after being asked to bat first by India captain KL Rahul, Evans and Ngarava’s 65-ball stay in the middle guided Zimbabwe to 189 in 40.3 overs.
Having scored at more than six runs per over, Evans and Ngarava managed to keep the Indian bowlers at bay. Not shying away from playing their shots, Zimbabwe’s No. 9 and 10 have a built a cushion for themselves to defend in the second innings.
While Evans hit three fours and a six at a strike rate of 113.79, Ngarava also hit the same number of boundaries but at a comparatively lower strike rate of 80.95.
It was on the second delivery of the 40th over when India fast bowler Prasidh Krishna produced a yorker to castle Ngarava’s stumps and prevent the Zimbabwean pair from crossing the 200-run mark. Readers must note that Ngarava was also part of a 68-run 10th wicket partnership alongside Victor Nyauchi in the third ODI against Bangladesh at the same venue last week.
9th wicket partnership record in ODI
| S. No. | Batters | Runs | Team | Opposition | Ground | Year |
| 1 | Angelo Mathews & Lasith Malinga | 132 | Sri Lanka | Australia | Melbourne | 2010 |
| 2 | Kapil Dev & Syed Kirmani | 126* | India | Zimbabwe | Tunbridge Wells | 1983 |
| 3 | Gerhard Erasmus & Bernard Scholtz | 121 | Namibia | Oman | Dubai (ICC Academy) | 2022 |
| 4 | Jai Prakash Yadav & Irfan Pathan | 118 | India | New Zealand | Bulawayo | 2005 |
| 5 | James Faulkner & Clint McKay | 115 | Australia | India | Bengaluru | 2013 |
It is worth mentioning that Evans and Ngarava’s stand is the joint 25th highest ninth-wicket ODI partnership. Furthermore, it is the fourth-highest ninth-wicket ODI partnership among Zimbabwean players.
Apart from their two tail-enders, only other positive coming out of this Zimbabwean innings was captain Regis Chakabva scoring 35 (51) with the help of four fours.
For India, all-rounder Axar Patel was the pick of their bowlers with figures of 7.3-2-24-3. Other than Patel, pacers Deepak Chahar and Krishna also picked three wickets each at the Harare Sports Club today.
