In order to advance to the Super 12 stage of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, West Indies, a two-time winner, needed to defeat Zimbabwe by 31 runs in their Group B opener at Bellerive Oval on Wednesday. The fast bowling pair of Alzarri Joseph and Jason Holder shared seven wickets between them.
West Indies didn't have a good start to their defence after scoring 153/7 in their 20 overs as Zimbabwe's acting skipper Regis Chakabva struck three fours in an 18-run first over off Kyle Mayers. Chakabva sliced on to his stumps as Joseph, who finished with career-best figures of 4/14, struck with his second ball.
Wesley Madhevere scored 27 runs off 19 balls, including two fours and a six, but he was losing wicketkeepers at the other end as Obed McCoy had Sean Williams chasing a shot and nicking behind to the keeper while Joseph had broken Tony Munyonga's stumps with a quick yorker. Holder, who took 3/12, successfully timed his grab when Madhevere sliced to the back.
The match's pivotal moment occurred in the eighth over, when an in-form Sikandar Raza mistimed his slap over the off-side to mid-off while moving to his left off Odean Smith. From then, Zimbabwe collapsed to 122 all out in 18.2 overs, despite some fight from Ryan Burl (17) and Luke Jongwe (29). This gave the West Indies a much-needed victory in the tournament, as evidenced by their joyous celebrations once the result was certified in their favour.
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