Zimbabwe rout USA in World Cup qualifier

Sean Williams hit 174 off 101 balls as Zimbabwe crushed the United States by 304 runs Monday at the Cricket World Cup qualifiers, the second biggest winning margin in terms of runs in ODI history.

Hosts Zimbabwe made their highest one-day total with a mammoth 408-6 off 50 overs and then bowled out the USA for just 104 to seal a fourth straight win in Group A.

Highest total for Zimbabwe ??
Second biggest margin of victory in ODI history ??

Utter domination by the hosts against USA in the #CWC23 Qualifier ??https://t.co/57YqnMFQiH

— ICC (@ICC) June 26, 2023

They narrowly missed breaking the record for the biggest margin of victory in a one-day international, set at the start of the year when India thrashed Sri Lanka by 317 runs in Thiruvananthapuram.

174 off 101 deliveries ??

For his memorable knock in #ZIMvUSA, Sean Williams is the @aramco #POTM ?? #CWC23 pic.twitter.com/NYWUTXjPax

— ICC (@ICC) June 26, 2023

Wicketkeeper Joylord Gumbie struck a steady 78 at the top of the order but Williams played the starring role as Zimbabwe stepped on the accelerator once the stand-in captain arrived at the crease.

Williams hit 21 fours and five sixes before he was caught in the deep in the penultimate over, with Sikandar Raza scoring 48 off 27 balls and Ryan Burl hammering 47 off just 16 deliveries.

Only three USA batters reached double figures as Richard Ngarava and Raza both took two wickets while three run outs compounded a dismal performance from the Americans.

ZIMBABWE: Joylord Gumbie(w), Craig Ervine(c), Wessly Madhevere, Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Ryan Burl, Clive Madande, Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani, Tendai Chatara, Luke Jongwe, Innocent Kaia, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Brad Evans

UNITED STATES: Steven Taylor, Sushant Modani, Saiteja Mukkamalla, Aaron Jones(c), Gajanand Singh, Shayan Jahangir(w), Nisarg Patel, Jasdeep Singh, Nosthush Kenjige, Saurabh Netravalkar, Ali Khan, Kyle Phillip, Monank Patel, Abhishek Paradkar, Usman Rafiq