Web desk: On July 30, 2025 during the first New Zealand versus Zimbabwe Test match at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, Matt Henry bowled his best career bowling performance with a lethal performance.
The right-arm pacer tore through the Zimbabwean batting lineup, taking 6 wickets in 39 runs, to bowl the hosts out in the first innings at 149 runs on day 1.
His performance by Matt Henry pushed the match hard on the side of New Zealand, and it even helped the player to hog much appreciation as one of the most in-form fast bowlers in world cricket.
In his first over of the same, Matt Henry demonstrated perfectly how to pace, how to be accurate and how to gain control over it.
With the new ball, he took advantage of every inch of swing available to him, and it was pure torture to the Zimbabwean top order.
By the second session, the star players had been taken down by Matt Henry to the chagrin of the home audience, who were witnessing a total domination.
The record is now deemed to be the finest ever by a New Zealand bowler in a Test game in Zimbabwe, smashing the old records and establishing a new one.
This performance took him to 328 international wickets, and he has leapfrogged Mitchell Santner and Kyle Mills to be the sixth-highest wicket-taker of all formats in New Zealand.
It is a major milestone that tells a lot about his longevity, fitness and capacity to win a match.
His form with the red ball, especially, has been exceptional in the last 12 months, and it only furthers his candidacy to the heart of the New Zealand Test attack.
Only a few days ago, Matt Henry played a major role in the T20 Tri-Series final that New Zealand won against South Africa, where he kept his team alive by defending seven runs in the last over.
His short temperament and ability in the shortest version were demonstrated in that clutch performance in a pressure game.
In the limited-overs format, he has been the most reliable fast bowler in the world and in the longest format, he has once again demonstrated this fact as well.
The Day 1 performance by Matt Henry in Bulawayo itself has made a difference in the tone of this Test match.
It was due to that foundation that New Zealand achieved its dominance, and with the batters who are now in a position to provide additional advantage to the lead, the visitors are firmly on top.
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