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WELCOME BACK HOME . . . Zimbabwe’s premier batsman Brendan Taylor raises his bat after reaching his half century in the second innings of his comeback Test against the West Indies at Queens in Bulawayo yesterday

Mehluli Sibanda in BULAWAYO
FOR a fleeting moment there was hope of a miracle, then a collapse shattered those dreams but some fireworks at the very end provided some entertainment for the fans as Zimbabwe lost the first Test against the West Indies by 117 runs at Queens Sports Club yesterday. Chasing an impossible 434 runs to win in two days, the best Zimbabwe could only achieve was a draw.

The home side showed some flashes of brilliance, a promising opening stand of 99 between Hamilton Masakadza and Solomon Mire and Brendan Taylor’s return to form. But in the end, they could not avoid being beaten with a day to spare. Zimbabwe’s usual demons returned to haunt their batsmen, Masakadza fell for 57, Mire went for 47, Taylor ran out Waller before he ran himself out for a well played top score of 73 as the home side made 316 in 90.4 overs in their second innings.

That score getting past 300 runs was largely due to an entertaining last wicket stand between tail enders, Kyle Jarvis and Christopher Mpofu. With nothing to lose, Mpofu helped himself to a career Test best 33 runs while Jarvis made an unbeaten 23 runs in a 10th wicket partnership of 53. Man-of-the-match, legspinner Devendra Bishoo picked up four wickets for 105 runs to add to the five he took in the first innings.

Zimbabwe captain, Graeme Cremer thought they were excellent on the opening day with the ball, only to throw it all away on the second day with a pathetic batting display. This being Zimbabwe’s first Test match since their tour of Sri Lanka in July, Cremer felt that there are certain things they can learn which West Indies executed well.

“I thought day one we were excellent with the ball and on the field, we really thought we had a good opportunity to go out there to put some runs on the board and put them under pressure but day two we had probably too many soft dismissals. Day two was a setback,’’ Cremer said. Earlier in the day, West Indies were all out for 373 in 126 overs. Roston Chase, 91 not out overnight was denied his fourth Test hundred when he was bowled for 95 by left arm spinner Sean Williams.

Cremer finished with 4-114 runs, Williams took three and Kyle Jarvis picked up two wickets on a pitch that did not favour the seamers. Requiring a world record 434 runs to win the match, openers Masakadza and Mire gave Zimbabwe a solid start. Masakadza reached his seventh Test 50 with a single off Kraigg Brathwaite’s bowling. He added seven more runs to his half century prior to being removed by Brathwaite, the ball coming off his bat and pads to the hands of Shai Hope.

Kemar Roach was brought back onto the attack and had Mire dragging one onto his leg stump to be bowled for 47. Craig Ervine departed leg before wicket to Bishoo for 18, Zimbabwe three down for 141. Williams contributed only six runs before becoming Bishoo’s second wicket, stumped by Shane Dowrich. Taylor made up for the one run he made in the first innings by getting to his eighth Test 50, getting to the half ton with a boundary off Bishoo after facing up to 113 balls and put away six fours.

Just when Zimbabwe looked good with a 64-run partnership for the fifth wicket between Taylor and Sikandar Raza, the latter threw away his wicket, playing a loose shot off Bishoo’s bowling to be snared by Chase at extra cover.

Malcolm Waller was run out for 11, Shai Hope with the direct hit which caught the batsman before he could get to the other end. Regis Chakabva made one off six prior to being caught and bowled by Chase. Taylor was run out for 73, going for a second run which was never there, Brathwaite with the throw from the deep to complete the dismissal.

Bishoo had his fourth wicket, his ninth for the match when he had Cremer caught and bowled. Mpofu and Jarvis delayed the inevitable with some entertaining strokes to keep the few fans who turned up on their feet. With just one wicket remaining, West Indies asked for the extra 30 minutes with 5.4 overs more played prior to the match coming to its end. Mpofu was the last man out, Chase getting him caught in the deep by Kieran Powell. The second Test starts at the same venue on Sunday.

Scores
West Indies 219 (Shai Hope 90*, Powell 56, Cremer 4/64, Williams 3/20) and 373 (Chase 95, Braithwaite 86, Cremer 4/114, Williams 3/91 Jarvis 2/66)

Zimbabwe 159 (Masakadza 42, Ervine 39, Bishoo 5/79, Roach 2/22, Holder 2/25) and 316 (Taylor 73, Masakadza 57, Mire 47, Bishoo 4/105)

Windies won by 117 runs