Langton Rusere (Zimbabwe), Paul Reiffel (Australia), Iknow Chabi (Zimbabwe, TV)
Referee
Jeff Crowe (New Zealand)
Toss
West Indies elected to bat
OVS
Bowler :
No summary available yet!
010000
Over 51
Runs: 1
100000
Over 52
Runs: 1
200004
Over 53
Runs: 6
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Over 54
Runs: 0
All Overs
Player of the Match
Player of the Series
Lucky Winner
Analysis
Weather Update
Bulawayo,Zimbabwe
Updated: 23 Dec 23:09
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Commentary
LATEST UPDATE
COMMENTARY NOT AVAILABLE
The commentary is not available for this match. Please check the scorecard for latest updates.
That's all from us then! We hope you enjoyed Sportskeeda's live coverage of this first Zimbabwe vs West Indies test match. This is Soumarya Dutta, signing off on behalf of my partner Pratyush! See you soon.
Tagenarine Chanderpaul is the Player of the Match. Here is what he has to say: It was good to go out here and get some runs. Once I got set in and got some runs, it was important to keep going as long as possible. (Warm-ups) The pitch was spinning a bit, so I was able to get some practice coming into the game. (Brathwaite) He's a guy that cherishes his wicket and wants to stay out there as long as possible. I've been trying to do the same. (Records) Of course, it's something to cherish. I hope we can keep going from strength to strength.
Craig Ervine, Zimbabwe Captain - It felt like that the last hour went on almost forever but in the end it was a great test match! The boys showed great fight throughout the five days, especially Gary and Brandon with a great partnership. The debutants Kaia and Makoni were amazing as well. The squad will be pretty much the same for the second Test match.
Kraigg Brathwaite: We lost a whole day. A commendable effort from all of us. Zimbabwe batted well on the third day. Full effort from Craig and the team, you've got to respect that. (Result) After having runs on the board, I had the belief we can bowl them out twice. We knew it wasn't going to be easy with Gary and the rest of the batters doing well. The guys fought well and it was a good team effort. Wickets with the new ball would have been crucial but Zimbabwe batted well. They showed some fighting spirit. The guys came together for us in this game and that's pleasing. (Tagenarine Chanderpaul) I know he's a fighter and someone who wants to be at the crease for long times. I think it's only the beginning for him, to be honest.
Right so, we've had a draw in the end to this first Test match between West Indies and Zimbabwe and it has gone down to the wire with the Windies managing to bowl 54 overs in the final session including the extended half an hour of play! Zimbabwe were in a tricky position with 6 wickets down heading into final half an hour of the game but Tafadzwa Tsiga and Wellington Masakadza ensured that there was no further damage and that they get to the draw with safety and ease.
The session started off with Zimbabwe needing almost 6 runs per over and they were off to a sedate start. Chamu Chibhabha and Innocent Kaia took their time to get in and it looked like we're heading towards a tame draw before a couple of wickets made things interesting at the back end of the day and the West indies suddenly looked in with a chance, before Ballance and Tsiga blocked their way through to safety.
For the West Indies, it was the spinners that looked quite threatening with Gudakesh Motie being the pick of the bowlers. He kept bowling relentlessly from an end and managed to pick up four wickets to his credit. He was ably supported by Roston Chase who managed to pick up two wickets for just 9 runs. There was some strange decisions in there too with two front line seamers, Jason Holder and Kyle Mayers bowling some spin towards the end, to fill in on time.
In the end, it turned out to be a great Test match and both the teams deserve some equal credit for making it this interesting despite the loss of overs. Zimbabwe struggled with the ball but they showed resilience with the bat and they will be taking a lot of positives from that! Gary Ballance on debut was the rea star for them shining bright with his 5th overall test hundred. Brandon Mavuta's grand return to test cricket will be a welcome aspect from them too.
For West Indies, they will be pleased with their batting effort but it's their bowling that has led them down! They had Zimbabwe reeling at one stage and could have enforced the follow on, but instead they let the onus shift and it became really hard for them from there on. They will be looking work on their bowling and come back better and stronger for the next game. They of course have some good options with the ball, especially with Shanon Gabriel, fresh and available for the second Test.
54
overs
134/6score
0
0
0
0
0
0
runs
Wellington Masakadza*
0(36)
Tafadzwa Tsiga
24(83)
Gudakesh Motie
4/50
53.6 Gudakesh Motie to Wellington Masakadza, BEAUTY! On the good length outside the off-stump line. Masakadza shuffles across to block but the ball sneaks past the outside edge. That will be that then. Umpire Paul Reiffel did state there was time for one more over but Brathwaite has decided to shake hands, finally. Stumps on day five! The first Test ends in a draw.
53.5 Gudakesh Motie to Wellington Masakadza, on the good length at middle stump. Masakadza defends it to short leg, no run
53.4 Gudakesh Motie to Wellington Masakadza, full delivery outside the off-stump. Masakadza shuffles across to block, no run
53.3 Gudakesh Motie to Wellington Masakadza, APPEALS! Nothing doing! A tad short to sharply turn into the left-hander. Balloons off his pads to the man at short leg. No bat involved though