Travis Head's 75-ball hundred drives Australia past 200 in the second ODI at Harare

Travis Head reached three figures from 75 balls to carry Australia past 200 inside 32 overs of the second ODI against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club

Australia were 209 for 2 after 31.4 overs on Friday, having been sent in by Zimbabwe on a Harare surface that has given the bowlers almost nothing.

Head brought up his hundred from 75 balls with 13 fours and three sixes. It was an emphatic answer to the four he made in the series opener at the same ground three days earlier.

Australia lead the three-match series 1-0, and a win here would settle it with a game still to play on 20 September.

A powerplay Zimbabwe could not contain

Head and captain Mitch Marsh took the opening ten overs for 78 without loss, with Head on 48 from 27 balls by the end of the fielding restrictions, seven of his boundaries and two of his sixes already struck.

Sikandar Raza had put Australia in at the toss, a call that worked in the opener when Zimbabwe reduced the visitors to 107 for 4. Nothing similar arrived this time, and the Zimbabwe captain was soon rotating his attack in search of a way through.

Blessing Muzarabani and Brad Evans, the quicks who did most to unsettle Australia in the first match, both went wicketless through their opening spells.

Australia were 138 for 1 at the 20-over mark and 168 for 1 at 25, Head by then unbeaten on his century.

Masakadza ends a stand of 130

The opening partnership was worth 130 when Wellington Masakadza removed Marsh for 53 in the 19th over, Zimbabwe's first breakthrough of the day.

It was the only wicket Australia lost in the first 25 overs, and the only period in which the required patience looked likely to pay Zimbabwe back.

A second wicket followed shortly before the 30-over mark, without the scoring rate dropping away, and Australia went past 200 with eight wickets in hand.

Head's answer to a first-match failure

Head lasted five balls in the opener, chopping Evans back onto his stumps for 4 and walking off before the innings had taken any shape.

He has opened alongside Marsh throughout the tour, and the pair have given Australia the start their middle order could not manage on Tuesday, when the innings had to be rebuilt from 107 for 4.

Here he needed 32 deliveries for his half-century and another 43 for the hundred, the acceleration coming through a powerplay Zimbabwe never looked like closing down.

Selection with 2027 in mind

Josh Hazlewood and Billy Stanlake came into the Australian side for this match, Cricket Australia describing Hazlewood's return as part of his preparation for Test cricket.

Pat Cummins is being rested through the tour, which leaves Marsh in charge of a close-to-full-strength squad on Australia's first visit to Zimbabwe in 12 years.

The timing is not accidental. The 2027 ODI World Cup is a year away and will be played partly in these conditions, with Harare Sports Club among the venues, so runs and overs on this tour count for more than a short bilateral series usually would.

What the first ODI set up

Australia won on 15 September by 59 runs, posting 294 for 8 before Zimbabwe were bowled out for 235 in 45.1 overs.

Matt Renshaw made 109 from 94 balls for a maiden ODI hundred and the player-of-the-match award, rebuilding the innings with support from Oliver Peake's 30 from 40. Nathan Ellis then took 5 for 31, his best figures in the format.

Zimbabwe had their own milestone in defeat, Newman Nyamhuri claiming a maiden five-wicket haul, while Craig Ervine (59) and Raza (57) both passed fifty in the chase without carrying it home.

Zimbabwe will need two more innings of that size here, and on the evidence of the first 30 overs they will be chasing a considerably larger number.

Live score: Australia 209 for 2 (31.4 overs) v Zimbabwe, 2nd ODI, Harare Sports Club

Catch the match live updates, highlights, and full match coverage on CricRadio. Get fast, accurate, and ad-free updates throughout the game. Download the CricRadio app from the Play Store to stay connected. You can also get the live scores of cricket series directly on the CricRadio website for real-time coverage.