Sloppy fielding and careless batting, along with their opponents sense of purpose epitomised by all-rounder Sikandar Raza combined to send West Indies crashing to a 35-run defeat against hosts Zimbabwe in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier recently.
Chasing 269 to win, the Caribbean side lost their way after a 64-run, third wicket stand between Kyle Mayers, whose 56 was the top score, and his Captain Shai Hope. They were bowled out in 44.4 overs in the Group A match.
Roston Chase made 44, Nicholas Pooran made 34, Hope got 30 and opener Brandon King added 20, but Tendai Chatara was the pick of the Zimbabwean bowlers with 3 for 52 from 9.4 overs, and fellow pacers Richard Ngarava and Blessing Muzarabani, as well as Raza, bowling his off-spin, took two wickets apiece to undermine the batting of the visitors.
West Indies chose to field and delivered crucial blows in the first half of the Zimbabwe innings and had the hosts wobbling on 112 for 4 at the halfway stage.
The Caribbean side let things slip with a few dropped chances, and an important 87-run stand for the fifth wicket between Raza, whose run-a-ball 68 was the top score, and Ryan Burl with 50 from 57 deliveries anchored the Zimbabweans to 268 all out in 49.5 overs.
West Indies ended their first Power Play on 55 for two after opener Brandon King and Johnson Charles were defeated by unpredictable bounce from the pitch and were caught at slip and square leg respectively.
Hope came to the crease and with Mayers got the visitors moving in the right direction scoring close to six runs per over.
Mayers was caught at long-off in the 21st off pacer Wellington Masakadza trying to add to the eight fours and one six he struck from 72 balls, and Raza bowled Hope in the 24th over.
The Caribbean side reached 139 for four at the halfway stage with Chase, Nicholas Pooran and Jason Holder, as well as Vice Captain Rovman Powell all due, still potentially enough batting for them to make a successful chase, but they could not find the right formula.
Pooran was lbw to Ngarava in 32nd over swinging across the line, and Powell was lbw to Muzarabani for one in the 33rd over. West Indies needed 89 from 103 balls
Holder got 19 and carried West Indies past 200 in the company of Chase before he dabbed at a delivery from Chatara and was caught behind in the 41st over with 52 needed from 59 balls.
The wickets of Keemo Paul lbw to Raza for one trying to reverse sweep. Chase bowled on a delivery from Chatara in the span of 7 balls practically ended the resistance from the Windies.
The final wicket of Alzarri Joseph, fittingly caught at mid-wicket by Player-of-the-March Raza off Chatara for 3, formalised the result with 32 balls remaining.
The result meant that Zimbabwe climbed back to the top of the standings with 6 points, and West Indies fall third behind the Netherlands against whom they play their final group match at the Takashinga Cricket Club.
