Conway, Nicholls and Ravindra 150s tighten New Zealand's grip in Bulawayo

Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra and Henry Nicholls struck commanding 150s as New Zealand tightened their grip on the second Test against Zimbabwe, ending Day 2 in Bulawayo at 601 for 3, and a lead of 476. It was only the third instance in Test history of three batters scoring 150-plus in the same innings, following England at The Oval in 1938 and India at Kanpur in 1986.

Zimbabwe's attack toiled without success as Ravindra and Nicholls piled on an unbroken 356-run stand for the fourth wicket.

New Zealand began the day on 174 for 1, with Conway unbeaten on 79 and nightwatchman Jacob Duffy for company. The pair added a further 61 runs for the second wicket, with Duffy defying the short-ball ploy before falling for 36 to Vincent Masekesa, pulling a long hop straight to mid-wicket. Nicholls then joined Conway, who moved smoothly to his century and later to 150, batting with trademark patience on a surface offering little to the host bowlers.

Blessing Muzarabani, with the second new ball, finally broke through when an in-ducker struck Conway's back arm and rolled onto the stumps for 153 off 245 balls. That opened the door for Ravindra's counterattack, a free-flowing innings full of crisp drives and sweeps that brought him a fifty off 48 balls and his third Test hundred off 104 balls. He dominated the afternoon, reaching 150 with a pulled six while Nicholls, more restrained early on, reached his 10th Test century and later his 150 in the final session.

Brief scores: New Zealand 601/3 (Devon Conway 153, Rachin Ravindra 165*, Henry Nicholls 150*, Jacob Duffy 36; Blessing Muzarabani 1-101, Vincent Masekesa 1-104) lead Zimbabwe 125 all out by 476 runs.