Devon Conway, New Zealand’s star opener, expressed his excitement at returning to the T20I squad and contributing significantly to the team’s eight-wicket victory in Match 3 of the Zimbabwe T20I Tri-Series 2025. Conway stayed unbeaten on 59 off 40 to lead his team to victory on Friday, as they comfortably chased down the goal.

The wicketkeeper-batsman also spoke about Finn Allen and his foot injury sustained during the recently finished Major League Cricket, for which he was draughted into the squad as a replacement player. He was overjoyed to be able to contribute to the team’s triumph in his return match.

“It feels amazing to be back in this setting. It’s been a while, so getting the call-up to rejoin the squad is amazing. Obviously, Finn Allen’s injury is terrible, but it’s wonderful to be back with the squad and meet some familiar faces after a lengthy absence. And it was great to contribute to the victory today,” Conway stated in the postgame press conference.

There was a lot of steep bounce in the surface, so we corrected Devon Conway

The left-handed hitter acknowledged the difficult batting circumstances early in the chase, which the hosts’ new-ball bowlers made good use of. He stated that the pace of outstanding Zimbabwe bowler Richard Ngarava originally presented a significant test to him during the powerplay overs, but once his feet settled in, runs began to pour from the Kiwi batter’s blade.

“There was a lot of sharp bounce in the surface, which was a little unexpected, but we adjusted, and happily, we only had to chase 121 to cross the finish line. The new ball, particularly their left-armer [Richard Ngarava], presented a significant challenge for us as batters. “They bashed that wicket really hard and got a lot of steep bounce out of it, so it made it pretty difficult for us batters early,” he continued.

New Zealand stand undefeated currently after two games in. The recent half-century was the southpaw’s 11th in the 20-over format. The BlackCaps claimed a 21-run win against South Africa prior to their match against the hosts. They will play the Proteas next on Tuesday, July 22.