ZIM vs NZ 2025: Mitchell Santner lauds New Zealand's 'collective effort' after Bulawayo triumph

New Zealand pacer Matt Henry shared that he found it rewarding to take advantage of the conditions on Day 1 of the Bulawayo Test against Zimbabwe, which he felt played a crucial role in providing the team with a solid platform. His efforts helped New Zealand secure a dominant victory in the first Test of the two-match series, as they comfortably chased down the paltry target of eight runs in their second innings.

Henry, who was named Player of the Match for his nine wickets in the match, also noted that Nathan Smith and Will O’Rourke would be checked for injuries. He also stated that he is looking forward to the upcoming home summer. He believed the team's strong bowling performance had a significant impact on the outcome of the match at Bulawayo.

"That's probably the nature of playing international cricket, you're chopping and changing between formats and have to trust the work put in beforehand. It was great the way we could exploit it (helpful conditions) on day one and set the platform. They'll both get checked out today (injury concerns for Nathan Smith and Will O'Rourke). We've got another game here and a big home summer coming up. Being smart with bodies is really important. Great to be back here playing Test cricket," Henry said in the post-match presentation.

The victory was a collective performance: Santner

New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner praised the team’s overall performance but admitted that they could have been more clinical with the bat. He felt that the side missed the opportunity to build stronger partnerships and acknowledged that no significant stand was put together despite a promising start.

"It was a great collective performance. We held our lengths and lines for a period. To get them out for 150 was quite nice. Could've been more clinical with the bat but having a lead is nice. We had good intent (with the bat). We talked about getting partnerships together but we didn't have any significant ones. They bowled well. It's obviously a challenge when it's bouncing like that,” said Santner.

Santner acknowledged the need to monitor Nathan and appreciated his impressive bowling in the first innings. The left-arm spinner’s four-wicket haul in the second innings were instrumental in applying pressure and tightening New Zealand’s grip on Zimbabwe.

"To take a lead is obviously nice and we bowled well in the second innings as well. It's always an ugly one when your bowlers go down. I feel for Nathan Smith. He bowled so well in the first innings. We'll have to see how he pulls up but doesn't look great. He's shown his quality for a few years (talking about Matt Henry). He obviously wasn't in the Test team for a bit, behind the big three. Ever since he's come back in, he's done an outstanding job," Santner added.