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West Indies defeated Zimbabwe by 31 runs to stay alive in the Super 12 race as fast bowlers Alzarri Joseph and Jason Holder shared seven wickets between themselves in a must-win Group B match in the first round of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at Bellerive Oval on Wednesday.
After electing to bat first, West Indies were 28/1 in 3.3 overs after losing opener Kyle Mayers who top-edged the ball to the keeper while playing a pull shot off Blessing Muzarabani. However, the duo of Johnson Charles and Evin Lewis added a vital 49-run stand off 38 balls to help the West Indies get back on track.
But Sikandar Raza, who came to bowl his off-spin in the seventh over, turned things around for Zimbabwe as he completely crushed the West Indies middle order. He took his first wicket in the tenth over when Lewis was out caught at long-on. West Indies were in a spot of bother at 90-3 in 12.2 overs when captain Nicholas Pooran was dismissed caught and bowled by Sean Williams.
To make things worse, a well-set Johnson Charles was run-out for 45 (36) with three fours and two sixes after a mix-up with Rovman Powell. Raza added more misery by taking two wickets in his last over as he first trapped Shamrah Brooks lbw and then dismissed Jason Holder by taking a superb catch on his own bowling to end with figures of 3/19 in his four overs.
Struggling at 101/6, a late flourish from Powell’s 28 off 21 balls with two sixes in the final over and Akeal Hosein’s unbeaten 23 off 18 balls with two fours helped the West Indies finish at 153/7 in 20 overs after losing momentum in the middle post a good start.
However, West Indies didn’t have a good start while defending the total as Zimbabwe’s stand-in captain Regis Chakabva scored three fours off Mayers to get 18 runs in the first over. In his second over, Alzarri Joseph dismissed the dangerous-looking Chakabva after conceding 11 runs in the opening over.
Wesley Madhevere, who scored a quickfire 27 off 19 balls with three fours and a six was watching his partners getting out from the other end as Joseph dismissed Tony Munyonga with a high-pace yorker to get him out bowled while left-arm pacer Obed McCoy had Sean Williams caught behind while he was chasing for a drive. All-rounder Jason Holder, got Madhevere out when he sliced straight to Evin Lewis at backward point who took a brilliant diving catch by timing his jump to perfection.
The turning point of the match came when an in-form Raza who looked in good touch with one four and a six got out caught off Odean Smith in the eighth over. Despite Ryan Burl’s 17 (19) and Luke Jongwe’s 29 (22), who hit 17 runs in the 17th over off Smith, Zimbabwe were bundled out at 122 in 18.2 overs as West Indies won the match by 31 runs with 10 balls to spare. With this win, West Indies keeps their T20 World Cup hopes alive of qualifying for the Super-12 stage.
Alzarri Joseph was awarded Player of the match for his career-best figures of 4/16 from his four overs.
With all four teams in Group B of the first round having two points each, the net run rate will become a factor in deciding the top two finishers, especially with rain threat looming on last two matches to be held on Friday. Currently, Scotland and Zimbabwe are in the top two place while West Indies and Ireland at third and fourth place respectively.
Brief Scores: West Indies 153/7 in 20 overs (Johnson Charles 45, Rovman Powell 28; Sikandar Raza 3/19, Blessing Muzarabani 2/38) beat Zimbabwe 122 all out in 18.2 overs (Luke Jongwe 29, Wesley Madhevere 27; Alzarri Joseph 4/16, Jason Holder 3/12) by 31 runs
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