Bulawayo [Zimbabwe], August 9 : After registering a win in the second and final Test of the series against Zimbabwe, New Zealand pacer Zakary Foulkes expressed his feelings on his debut performance, where he finished with figures of 9/75.
On Saturday, Foulkes, who had taken a four-fer for 38 runs in the first innings, outshone his senior, Matt Henry, who had taken a five-wicket haul in the first innings, with a fifer on his own. With Zimbabwe battling a heavy deficit, he took 5/37, ending with match figures of 9/75.
Speaking at the post-match press conference about his performance, Foulkes said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo, "It still hasn't really kicked in to be honest. It was all a little bit rushed. I've been on a white ball diet so the prospect of bowling a few more overs and stuff, I definitely felt a bit sore on day two. Thankfully, we didn't have to bowl on day two, which was nice. It was cool to get back into red-ball cricket."
With his historic nine-wicket haul on his debut, he outdid his teammate Will O'Rourke, who took 9/93 on his Test debut for the Kiwis against South Africa at Hamilton last year, which also included a five-wicket haul.
Former Indian spinner Narendra Hirwani holds the record for best match figures on a Test debut, taking 16 wickets for 136 runs against the West Indies in Chennai back in January 1988.
Recapping the second Bulawayo Test between New Zealand and Zimbabwe, centuries from Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls and Rachin Ravindra, and a historic spell by pacer Zakary Foulkes helped New Zealand secure a massive win over Zimbabwe by an innings and 359 runs at Bulawayo on Saturday.
With this victory, the Kiwis have won the series 2-0, and they have secured their biggest win in Test cricket history. This is also the third-best victory margin in Tests by runs, next to England's innings and 579 runs win over Australia in 1938 and Australia's win over South Africa by an innings and 360 runs.