Nathan Ellis becomes fourth Australian with ODI fifer vs Zimbabwe
What's the story
Australia secured a comfortable 59-run victory over Zimbabwe in the opening ODI in Harare. The win was powered by Matt Renshaw's maiden ODI century and Nathan Ellis's first-ever five-wicket haul in international cricket. The latter's performance meant the home team was bundled out for 235 while chasing the 295-run target. Here we decode Ellis's sensational performance and stats.
Bowling brilliance
Ellis's 5-wicket haul restricts Zimbabwe
Ellis was the star of the show with his bowling performance, taking 5 wickets for just 31 runs.
The pacer was brilliant with the new ball, trapping top-order batters Brian Bennett (25) and Innocent Kaia (18) within the powerplay.
The well-set Craig Ervine (59) was his next victim.
Ellis later dismissed a couple of tail-enders as the Aussies bundled out the hosts for just 235 runs in 45.1 overs.
Milestones
Ellis joins these names
Ellis finished with impressive figures of 5/31 from 9.1 overs, including one maiden.
Having claimed 5/22 in the 2004 Sydney ODI, Brad Williams is the only Aussie bowler with better ODI figures against Zimbabwe.
Overall, he became the fourth Australian with an ODI fifer against this team.
Jason Gillespie and Cameron Green are the other Australians with ODI fifers versus Zimbabwe.
Information
A look at Ellis's ODI stats
This was Ellis's maiden ODI five-wicket haul, which has taken him to 33 wickets across 23 games at 30.24. The tally includes a four-fer and a decent economy of 5.2.