Australia defeated Zimbabwe by 84 runs to win the second ODI and the series with a game to spare.

Travis Head's 75-ball century set the tone as Australia set Zimbabwe a target of 357 to chase down in Harare, and the hosts fell short in the end.

Zimbabwe won the toss and chose to bowl, but that decision backfired as Head (112) and Mitchell Marsh (53) put on a 130-run partnership off 114 balls before the latter was dismissed by Wellington Masakadza (2-51).

Head was then removed by Wessly Madhevere (1-52), but not before he stitched together a 60-run stand with Cooper Connolly (78), who was causing plenty of problems before Brad Evans (3-86) took some quick wickets.

Oliver Peake smashed an unbeaten 41 off 18 as Australia finished on 356-6, and Zimbabwe's chase got off to a poor start as openers Brian Bennett (23) and Ben Curran (30) were both bowled out by Matt Renshaw (2-44).

Brendan Taylor (39) and Craig Ervine (38) failed to build on their early foundations, while Connolly (2-25) dismissed the dangerous Sikandar Raza (45) before picking up the final wicket of Blessing Muzarabani (0), with Zimbabwe being bowled out for 272 in just over 48 overs.

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— Zimbabwe Cricket (@ZimCricketv) September 18, 2026

Australia cruise to victory with team performance

It was an impressive team display from Australia, though Head's eighth century in ODIs laid the groundwork for their performance.

Connolly provided the goods with both bat and ball; at 23 years and 27 days old, he is the youngest Australian to score three consecutive 50+ scores in men's ODIs.

It was also a landmark day for Adam Zampa (2-62), who became just the second Australian spinner to take 200 ODI wickets, after Shane Warne.

Zimbabwe, meanwhile, were unable to complete a record chase in the format, with their highest successful chase standing at 329, as they struggled to form partnerships like Australia did early on in their innings.

However, with one game still to go in the series, the hosts will be hoping to end it on a high note.