West Indies solid in chase of 274

converted one of the many chances that came their way.
In the fourth over, the debutant medium-pacer Tendai Chatara had Powell pushing uppishly for Vusi Sibanda to pull off a one-handed stunner at short extra cover. Replays, however, showed Chatara would have to wait for his maiden international wicket as he had overstepped. In the 18th over, Zimbabwe had clear opportunities to catch both openers short of their ground in the space of three deliveries, but poor fielding meant Powell and Sarwan carried on unhindered.
Sarwan began in a blaze of boundaries, cutting, driving and pulling for fours but started finding the field far too often. Powell was a touch more aggressive but wasn’t far behind in hitting seemingly innocuous deliveries to the infield.
However, there was hardly any bite in the Zimbabwe attack for them to tie them down the batsmen for a prolonged stretch. Chris Mpofu had gone for 83 in ten overs in the first game.
His replacement, Chatara, moved the ball around for a while but was far too slow to create too many worries. Powell kept breaking free with some big hits while Sarwan had the space to push around for singles.
Even as the duo motored along, West Indies’ worry would be that a couple of quick wickets could significantly increase the pressure of the asking-rate.
Zimbabwe shrugged off their rustiness from the first ODI to post their highest total in West Indies against the hosts in the second. They had conceded 337 and responded with a start of 34 for 4 on Friday in their first international game in five months, but two days later, three of the top five made fifties in a competitive batting effort.
Like in the first match, Craig Ervine was at the forefront of a recovery, and unlike in the first match, he ensured he carried on long enough to make a significant difference. Zimbabwe began solidly, if sedately, but Dwayne Bravo’s double-strike in the 19th over consigned their middle order to another rebuilding role. Ervine and Hamilton Masakadza responded to that challenge with a 110-run fourth-wicket partnership. Had stand-in West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo not struck at crucial moments on way to a career-best 6 for 43, his side would have had a chase much closer to 300 on their hands.
He struck twice in his first over, removing the in-form Vusi Sibanda and the captain Brendan Taylor in the space of three deliveries to convert a solid 76 for 1 into a shaky 76 for 3. Sibanda had vindicated his captain’s decision to bat and had looked in little trouble as he drove, cut, pulled and swept his way to a breezy fifty.
The emphasis seemed to be on not losing wickets at the start as Sibanda and Chamu Chibhabha scored just 35 in the ten overs of the opening Powerplay. Zimbabwe progressed well along those lines, despite the departure of Chibhabha in the 12th over, until Dwayne Bravo brought himself on. Sibanda missed a full and straight delivery to be bowled, and Taylor missed the line of an incoming ball to be caught lbw.
Ervine arrived and steadied matters again. Soon, he was paddling Dwayne Bravo and sweeping Sunil Narine for fours. Masakadza, nowhere close to Ervine in fluency, soldiered on at the other end, heaving Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell for a six each. Narine, with 3 for 28 in the first game, found lots of turn and bounce but was partly unfortunate not to have had better figures than 1 for 55, and partly responsible for them, bowling too short and on the wrong lines often. He bowled accurately in the batting Powerplay alright, conceding just 12 off three overs as Zimbabwe managed 22 off the final set of fielding restrictions.
Third ball of the 41st, Masakadza had another heave, and the top-edge landed in the hands of a running Narine at third man. Zimbabwe were 194 for 4 after 42 overs, and needed someone to kickstart the final charge.
Malcolm Waller provided that boost in a cameo that lasted just 16 deliveries, but altered the momentum of the innings. In an eventful 43rd over from Kemar Roach, Waller pulled and drove for a six and a four before being yorked. Roach was dumbfounded when no-ball was signalled, and it turned out that Tino Best’s carelessness had made it one man too many outside the inner circle. Roach went harder for another yorker next ball, and Waller flicked the resultant full toss off his pads over short fine leg for six more.
Roach did get his man in his next over, bowled off a slower one, but now Ervine lofted two more sixes, one each off Roach and Dwayne Bravo. The West Indies captain dealt another timely blow when he bowled Ervine off a full toss in the 46th over. Zimbabwe still managed 79 off the final eight overs, and left West Indies with a proper chase on their hands. — Cricinfo.