Staff Writer 
South Africa – 418-9 declared and 369 all out in 82.5 overs (Wiaan Mulder 147, Keshav Maharaj 51, Corbin Bosch 36; Wellington Masakadza 4/98, Tanaka Chivanga 2/76, Vincent Masekesa 2/117)
Zimbabwe – 251 and 208 all out in 66.2 overs (Wellington Masakadza 57, Craig Ervine 49, Blessing Muzarabani 32*; Corbin Bosch 5/43, Codi Yusuf 3/22, Dewald Brevis 1/22)
South Africa won by 328 runs
Wellington Masakadza and Craig Ervine staged a spirited resistance with the bat, but Zimbabwe still succumbed to a 328-run defeat to South Africa on day four of the first Test at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Tuesday.
Set an improbable target of 537, the hosts resumed their second innings on 32 for one – and the writing was on the wall from the very first ball of the morning.
Corbin Bosch struck immediately, cramping Nick Welch with a sharp short delivery that ballooned to short leg – a dismissal that gave him wickets with consecutive deliveries across two days, having also removed Takudzwanashe Kaitano with the final ball of day three.
Sean Williams, fresh off a century in the first innings, looked to counter-attack in trademark style, smashing four boundaries in his first eight balls.
However, his aggressive approach proved short-lived as he top-edged another Bosch bouncer to the keeper and fell for a brisk 26 off 18 balls.
A dramatic collapse followed.
Debutant Codi Yusuf then took centre stage, removing Prince Masvaure for 12 with a sharp catch in the slips, before dismissing both Wessly Madhevere and Tafadzwa Tsiga without scoring.
Zimbabwe slumped to 82 for six, with any hopes of extending the contest slipping away rapidly.
However, despite the bleak situation, Ervine and Masakadza – playing in just his sixth Test – mounted a defiant seventh-wicket stand, adding 83 runs and virtually doubling the team total.
Ervine played with calm assurance, while Masakadza showed enterprise in compiling his maiden Test half-century, punching Bosch through gully to bring up his fifty.
It was a notable effort for a player whose previous highest Test score was just 17.
Just as the home side appeared to have steadied the innings, Tony de Zorzi pulled off a brilliant diving catch at short leg to dismiss Ervine for 49 off Bosch, who soon completed his maiden five-wicket haul by bowling Vincent Masekesa.
Masakadza’s gritty knock ended on 57 – off 92 balls with nine boundaries – becoming the ninth man out with the total on 181.
Yet there was still some late entertainment, as Blessing Muzarabani launched a cameo of 32 not out off 29 balls.
The tall fast bowler took on part-time spinner Dewald Brevis and stand-in skipper Keshav Maharaj with gusto, clearing the ropes twice and adding four boundaries in a lively display.
The innings finally ended on 208 when Tanaka Chivanga, who had blocked valiantly for 22 balls, danced down the track and was stumped off Brevis – handing the debutant his first Test wicket.
Bosch finished with superb figures of five for 43, capping off a memorable performance that also included a first-innings century.
Yusuf chipped in with an incisive three for 22 as South Africa claimed a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.
