40.1 overs Zimbabwe 124 all out (Brent 2*). South Africa (272 for 7) won by 148 runs
A resounding victory for South Africa left Zimbabwe wallowing in lead boots. They now have to pick themselves up overnight in preparation for tomorrow's rematch and the attempt to avoid a whitewash in the three-match series.

The last three wickets managed to hang around for a while, but survival was as good as it got. The only real damage to South Africa came when Mark Boucher got a ball in the face from Lance Klusener.

Mluleki Nkala was clean-bowled by Klusener for 5 (121 for 8) after a partnership of 19 with Dion Ebrahim, and then Claude Henderson, the left-arm spinner, scooped up the final two wickets to finish with the red-letter bowling figures of 4 for 17 in 9.1 overs. He had Ebrahim well snaffled by Shaun Pollock for 15, and then Travis Friend was stranded miles out of his crease and stumped by Boucher for 1.

It hadn't been Zimbabwe's finest hour – their batting and fielding were both shoddy. Guy Whittall, a late replacement for the injured Heath Streak as captain, didn't try to blame the toss: he said he'd have fielded anyway.

The Man of the Match went to Jonty Rhodes for his jaunty 56 and his jack-in-the-box fielding. Zimbabwe could do with some of his kick-arse enthusiasm to drag themselves out of bed tomorrow morning.

30 overs Zimbabwe 108 for 7 (Nkala 0*, Ebrahim 9*) need 165 runs to win

Zimbabwe slipped towards another big defeat at the hands of South Africa after a second mini-collapse at Harare. This time they lost three wickets for eight runs and with them their last recognised batsmen in Stuart Carlisle, Grant Flower and Guy Whittall.

Carlisle was well caught by Mark Boucher off Claude Henderson for 31 (94 for 5) after a partnership of 44 with Grant Flower. And with him went the momentum of the innings – there was only one more four (by Dion Ebrahim) in the following five overs.

Grant Flower was run out by Shaun Pollock after spotting a single where no-one else could even see a stride. He had made a painstaking 20 (101 for 6). Then, in the very next over, Guy Whittall was caught at point by Henderson for a duck.

With three wickets left, Zimbabwe need to score at more than eight an over. Dion Ebrahim – this is your big chance.

20 overs Zimbabwe 74 for 4 (Carlisle 21*, G Flower 5*) need 199 runs to win

A middle-order stumble put South Africa's bowlers on top as Zimbabwe lost two wickets for two runs. First Alistair Campbell, who had looked in fine fettle, fell in Jacques Kallis's first over of the day. A mis-hit to mid-off and he was walking back, caught by Gary Kirsten for 21 (48 for 3). In the very next over, man of the moment Andy Flower had a moment of madness and played Makhaya Ntini into his stumps and was out for 2. Zimbabwe were in trouble at 50 for 4.

But Stuart Carlisle wasn't going to let things go that easily. He was dropped by Lance Klusener off Jacques Kallis when only on 2, but showed no sign of breaking into a worried sweat. He glided Kallis off his legs for four and thwacked Ntini back over his head for another boundary. This time it was the South African fielders who were having to mop their brows.

At the other end, Grant Flower was steadiness personified. Carlisle had made 21 off 22 balls, Flower 5 off 21.

11 overs Zimbabwe 42 for 2 (Campbell 17*, A Flower 0*) need 231 runs to win

Paul Strang, promoted up the order to add some bubble and squeak to Zimbabwe's batting did just what he was asked. He cut Andre Nel over the slips for four and then dispatched Shaun Pollock in similar style. It wasn't quite South Africa's start – they made 12 off the first over, to Zimbabwe's two – but morale-boosting stuff still.

When Kallis dropped a very tricky chance from Strang when he had made 15, it seemed the gods were with him. But, with the score on 38, he got a thin-edge behind and was caught by Boucher for 19.

Four runs later, Masakadza was gone too, needlessly run out by a direct hit from Jacques Kallis for 0. All the while Alistair Campbell looked in fluent form – back-foot driving and cutting with aplomb.

50 overs South Africa 272 for 7 (Boucher 4*)

A rare patch of concentrated containment by Zimbabwe's bowlers – between overs 40 and 45 the batsmen scored just 15 runs – restricted South Africa to 272. Not a bad score at all, but a small hillock when compared to last week's mountainous 363.

Neil McKenzie fell shortly after the drinks interval after putting on 79 with Jonty Rhodes. He slog-swept Grant Flower to deep midwicket where he was well caught by Mluleki Nkala for 40 (212 for 4). He hadn't managed a single boundary.

Next to go was Jonty Rhodes, also to a sweep – though a more articulate one. He was snaffled by the safe hands of Paul Strang off Grant Flower for 56 typically mischievous runs (225 for 5).

Lance Klusener, who had started very slowly, and Shaun Pollock thrashed the ball about a bit in the final overs – Pollock lifted Alistair Campbell over midwicket for six, and Klusener cover-drove him for four (surely those forearms are made from 250% sinew). But both fell before the end slogging. Pollock pulled Whittall, the perspiring stand-in captain, to Grant Flower who took a great catch (253 for 6), and then Klusener, who had smashed the penultimate ball of the innnings for six, tried to repeat the shot and was caught by Campbell off Whittall for 34, from a most unKlusener-like less-than-a-run-a-ball 36 deliveries.

35 overs South Africa 182 for 3 (McKenzie 34*, Rhodes 33*)

The Zimbabwean bowlers breathed a huge sigh of relief when Herschelle Gibbs, who had reached fifty off 49 balls and had his beady eye on another century, was caught by a diving Guy Whittall off the bowling of Paul Strang for 69 (133 for 3). It was a smashing catch, but unfortunately for Zimbabwe much of their other fielding has been rather dodgy – balls going through fingers, arms being slow to respond.

Paul Strang was flighting the ball well but Jonty Rhodes and Neil McKenzie knew how to play the field. Rhodes was his typically unconventional self – reverse-sweeping here and slogging sixes there. They put on fifty in 53 balls.

20 overs South Africa 108 for 2 (Gibbs 58*, McKenzie 5*)

Paul Strang produced a fantastic googly to surprise Jacques Kallis and up his number of dismissals on Zimbabwean soil to the grand total of two. Strang bowled him with the very first ball of his spell, in the 17th over, for 26 (89 for 2).

Kallis had been happy playing second fiddle to Gibbs's Stradivarius and together they had made some entertaining tunes. Not that Nkala appreciated them much – his first four overs went for six, ten, eight and nine runs respectively.

But Gary Brent provided stand-in captain Guy Whittall with some much-needed control. His first eight-over spell cost only 26.

10 overs South Africa 53 for 1 (Gibbs 25*, Kallis 16*)

When Herschelle Gibbs whacked a six in the very first over of the day, Zimbabwean hearts must have sunk into the swamp. Especially that of bowler Travis Friend, who had been deposited to most areas of the ground by Gibbs in the last match at Bulawayo.

But despite the first over going for ten runs, on a more seamer-friendly pitch, Zimbabwe's bowlers were this time able to maintain at least a semblance of control.

Well, these things are relative. Gibbs raced to 25, 20 of his runs coming in boundaries, and Kallis wasn't that far behind – drilling Friend through extra-cover with the precision of a man doing some work next to an electric cable.

But Zimbabwe did get rid of Gary Kirsten early on. He misjudged and was caught and bowled by Friend, who practically ran into Kirsten's stumps to take a catch off his own bowling. Kirsten was out for 10 and South Africa were 24 for 1.

South Africa won the toss and elected to bat. Zimbabwe are without their captain Heath Streak, who suffered a back spasm shortly before the start. Guy Whittall is standing in.

Teams
Zimbabwe 1 Alistair Campbell, 2 Paul Strang, 3 Hamilton Masakadza, 4 Andy Flower (wk), 5 Stuart Carlisle, 6 Grant Flower, 7 Guy Whittall (capt), 8 Deon Ebrahim, 9 Travis Friend, 10 Mluleki Nkala, 11 Gary Brent

South Africa 1 Gary Kirsten, 2 Herschelle Gibbs, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 Neil McKenzie, 5 Jonty Rhodes, 6 Lance Klusener, 7 Shaun Pollock (capt), 8 Mark Boucher (wk), 9 Claude Henderson, 10 Andre Nel, 11 Makhaya Ntini

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