Day 1
Zimbabwe 19 for 0 trail West Indies 219 by 200 runs
Only Shai Hope stood firm for West Indies on the first day at Queens Sports Club as Zimbabwe's bowlers consistently chipped away to bowl West Indies out for 219 and ensure the hosts had the upper hand at the close. For much of the day, West Indies and Zimbabwe both threw punches in an engaging back-and-forth contest, but the Zimbabwe spinners came to the fore after tea with seven wickets in the session. West Indies collapsed from 174 for 3 to 219 all out, and Hope was left stranded on 90 not out.
It was Sikandar Raza's offspin that prompted the start of West Indies' collapse in the afternoon sunshine. He had Roston Chase caught via the inside edge by Craig Ervine at short leg - the second of four smart catches Ervine would take in the position - to break a 64-run partnership after tea.
That was West Indies' last combination of any substance. Graeme Cremer quickly had Jermaine Blackwood stumped, and Sean Williams then made the most of helpful conditions to nip Shane Dowrich, Jason Holder and Devendra Bishoo out in quick succession: a spell of 3 for 2 in four overs for him. The ball had gripped and turned almost from the very first over of spin this morning, and continued to do so as Cremer made short work of the West Indies tail to finish with 4 for 64.
Yet, despite the turn on offer this isn't (yet) a bunsen burner of a track - as Shai Hope showed. Playing straight and generally in front of the wicket, he profited particularly from the cover drive. He saw the shine off the new ball and once he got in, he stayed there. His only shot in anger came immediately after the final drinks break of the day, when he thumped Raza over wide long-on for the first six of the innings, and just the second of his entire Test career so far.
Hope had come to the crease after Kyle Jarvis, returning to national colours after a four-year hiatus, and Solomon Mire, on Test debut, made the initial incisions for the hosts this morning. Jarvis, looking every inch the county pro with his trendy haircut and full-sleeve tattoo, took the new ball from the City End in overcast, cool conditions, more reminiscent of Old Trafford than Queens Sports Club, and soon had a comeback wicket when Kraigg Brathwaite couldn't quite get behind one that left him off the pitch, feathering an edge to wicketkeeper Regis Chakabva for 3 off 22 balls.
Mire's debut Test wicket reduced West Indies to 35 for 2 and brought Hope to the crease. In a measured knock, Hope - heir apparent to West Indian batting aristocracy - displayed the sort of tempered accumulation that is becoming his trademark. Cremer kept his attacking fielders in place throughout, opting for an in-out field when it became apparent that Hope and opener Kieran Powell had settled in during their 75-run third wicket stand. Although there were moments of alarm when the ball would grip the surface, it seemed the pitch would mostly play flat and true.
Hope received solid support from Powell, who had gone 29 consecutive innings without a fifty before this one. Powell was made to graft today by some determined bowling from the hosts, eventually reaching his fifty from 118 deliveries.
It took an inspired piece of fielding from Ervine at short leg - and a judicious use of a review - to finally dismiss Powell. Ervine spotted Powell shuffling well outside off to sweep and pre-emptively started moving to his left at short leg, taking a tumbling catch to his left. It was his first of four catches - only the second time a Zimbabwe fielder has taken four catches in a Test.
After overnight rain and overcast conditions for much of the day, the sun burned through the clouds in the afternoon, seemingly raising Zimbabwe's spirits in the process. Hope eased past fifty, from 121 deliveries. His team-mates, however, had no answer to Zimbabwe's gaggle of spinners.
After West Indies' capitulation, the hosts had a tricky five-over period to negotiate before the close. Hamilton Masakadza was content to block out almost everything that came his way but Mire showed no such restraint. He opened his Test account with a glide through gully, and then put an emphatic stamp on proceedings with a towering six off Chase's offspin in the final over of the day. Advantage: Zimbabwe.
Day 2
West Indies 219 & 88/1 (33 ov)
Zimbabwe 159
West Indies lead by 148 runs with 9 wickets remaining
In a Test match being played in fast-forward mode, 11 wickets fell on the second day at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo as West Indies surged into the ascendancy. Legspinner Devendra Bishoo was the catalyst for the turnaround, scything through Zimbabwe's top order to finish with 5 for 79.
His first ball of the morning was hit for six, but Bishoo soon found his rhythm. In an unbroken 23-over spell on either side of lunch, he undid all of the hard work done by Zimbabwe's bowlers, with spin, bounce and accuracy. The hosts were bowled out for 159 during the extended post-lunch session, and by the close West Indies had stretched their lead to 148, with Kraigg Brathwaite and Kyle Hope adding an unbeaten 63 for the second wicket.
For a while, it appeared that Zimbabwe might continue to chug along gamely despite the early loss of Solomon Mire. But once Bishoo settled, West Indies made regular inroads as Zimbabwe lost 9 for 68 from a comfortable 91 for 1.
Hamilton Masakadza, who had muscled Bishoo's opening delivery over long on for six, could not smother the turn of a fizzing legbreak and feathered an edge through to wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich for 42 - the highest score of Zimbabwe's innings. Brendan Taylor's second coming then lasted all of seven deliveries before he reverse swept Bishoo into Jermaine Blackwood's hands at slip, the fielder having moved in anticipation of the stroke.
With his dismissal Zimbabwe slipped to 93 for 3, and Sean Williams endured a working-over against the pace of Shannon Gabriel as the hosts went into the lunch interval without further loss. At that point, the innings - and the match - was still in the balance, but the afternoon belonged entirely to West Indies.
Bishoo's effort was well backed up by the pace attack, who utilized the dryness of the surface to extract significant reverse swing. Kemar Roach had a flat-footed Sean Williams caught behind wafting lazily at one that left him off the track, while Jason Holder, hiding the shiny side of the ball in his hands during his run-up, castled Malcolm Waller with one that hooped in from outside off to beat a loose defensive poke. Between times, Bishoo bowled unchanged and found regular success against an increasingly jittery middle order.
Sikandar Raza looked a little ungainly against the quicks, and positively frenetic against spin. He might have been stumped very early on, had the ball not deviated off his elbow and away from Dowrich, but kept using his feet and eventually swiped underneath a flighted delivery to top-edge a catch to Gabriel at long off.
That gave Bishoo his third, with Zimbabwe still 96 in arrears. Straight after the afternoon drinks break, he had his fourth, finally getting the better of Craig Ervine with one that went straight on with the arm to beat the left-hander's sweep and strike him right in front of middle stump. With Bishoo ragging it square from one end and the pace attack reversing the ball from the other end, full capitulation from Zimbabwe seemed only a matter of time.
Regis Chakabva flapped a half-hearted cut tamely to backward point to give Bishoo his fourth five-wicket haul in Test cricket - and his third away from home. When Graeme Cremer inside-edged a drive off Holder Zimbabwe were 147 for 9. The last pair of Chris Mpofu and Kyle Jarvis added just 12 more before Mpofu nicked off to a length delivery from Gabriel.
Brathwaite and Powell strode out to open the batting a second time inside two days with the opportunity to bat Zimbabwe out of a match. They weathered steady new-ball spells from Kyle Jarvis and Christopher Mpofu, but when spin was introduced Powell fell almost immediately, playing inside a delivery from Cremer to see his off stump disturbed.
West Indies were 25 for 1 then, and with both Cremer and Williams gaining alarming turn and bounce, Zimbabwe were not yet out of the match. Hope was offered an early reprieve when a tough chance went down at short leg, but soon got his feet moving and repeatedly shovelled the spinners into the leg side. Brathwaite, similarly legside in his technique, was also unafraid to loft the ball and cracked Cremer over long on for six early in his innings.
Neither he nor Hope gave Zimbabwe much of a sniff thereafter, and though there was still turn on offer in the afternoon it seemed some of the bite had gone out of the track. But there is still an awful lot of time left in a match during which 21 wickets have already fallen - and all but seven of those to spin. With a little more hard work, West Indies are one or two sessions from closing out the first Test.
Day 3
West Indies 219 & 369/8
Zimbabwe 159
West Indies lead by 429 runs with 2 wickets remaining
West Indies tightened their grip on day three in Bulawayo, Kraigg Brathwaite's 86 and Roston Chase's unbeaten 91 forming the backbone of their 369 for 8. With the Hope brothers and Devendra Bishoo also chipping in with handy runs, West Indies extended their lead to 429 runs by stumps. With two full days remaining, Zimbabwe have a mountain to climb.
Where Brathwaite's batting in the morning was doggedly purposeful, Chase's in the afternoon was enterprising and, at times, adventurous. Marshalling the lower order, he was in sight of a Test hundred when Bishoo's dismissal, six short of a maiden first-class half-century, brought the day to a close.
It was apparent first thing this morning, with reverse swing, spin and inconsistent bounce available for the bowlers, that batting would not be easy. But Brathwaite soaked up the early pressure, and the patience exhibited by West Indies' top order stood in stark contrast to Zimbabwe's jittery effort on Sunday.
West Indies may have had cause for some nerves early on as Sean Williams and Kyle Jarvis beat Brathwaite's outside edge. Jarvis' fourth delivery of the day elicited a clear puff of dust as it hit the deck, scooting through at shin height, and was a sign of the increasing mischief in this pitch. Yet Zimbabwe did not use the conditions, or Jarvis' early dismissal of Kyle Hope with an indipper, as well as they could have.
Luck played its part: there were multiple half-chances, almosts and what-ifs in the first hour. But Brathwaite was also dropped twice in consecutive overs off Graeme Cremer before lunch, allowing him to continue taking advantage of the bad balls when they came.
Shai Hope's dead-bat defence and steady accumulation held Zimbabwe at bay. Brathwaite soon brought up a solid fifty, off 137 deliveries. Brathwaite had been comfortable shuffling right across his stumps for much of the morning, making the majority of his runs on the leg side off both spin and pace. The tactic eventually got him in trouble, however, and Zimbabwe finally stopped the third wicket partnership at 67 when Sikandar Raza got one to spin in sharply from outside off stump to trap Brathwaite lbw.
With West Indies' lead advancing past 250, Zimbabwe took the new ball and once again both Jarvis and Chris Mpofu extracted inconsistent bounce from a length. Jarvis removed Shai Hope for 44 with a delivery that skidded and nipped back in, but Chase continued picking the right ball to hit, moving into the 30s with a massive hit over long off.
At the other end, Zimbabwe continued to chip away. Mirroring his dismissal in the first innings, Jermaine Blackwood was well stumped by Regis Chakabva - the fourth time he has been stumped in his last seven innings. Shane Dowrich took the lead past 300 with a flowing cover drive, before he, too, fell to spin, edging Williams to Masakadza at slip.
Chase, looking particularly strong through the covers, raced to fifty from 69 deliveries and captain Jason Holder seemed in even more of a rush. He hit his very first ball - and the first ball after tea - for six over long off, and immediately followed that up with a crashing drive through extra cover. He fell for a 23-ball 24, but Chase held firm and found an able partner in Devendra Bishoo, who swept, pulled and drove gamely as the eighth wicket stand passed fifty in just 74 deliveries.
Both batsmen opened up as the lead ballooned beyond 400, and the partnership stretched to 92 - the highest stand of the match - before Bishoo slogged Cremer to deep midwicket, thereby falling one short of his highest Test score and not far from a maiden Test fifty. But with two full days remaining in the Test match, West Indies are set up for a huge win and Zimbabwe have a mountain to climb.
Day 4
West Indies 219 & 373
Zimbabwe 159 & 316
West Indies won by 117 runs
Devendra Bishoo cut through Zimbabwe's batsmen for the second time in the match, finishing with 4 for 105 in the innings - and 9 for 184 in the match - as West Indies surged to a 117-run win on day four at Queens Sports Club. Brendan Taylor, in his comeback Test match, top-scored with 73 in the second innings but Zimbabwe struggled to capitalize on a promising opening stand and West Indies chipped away regularly. With plenty of spin on offer all day, the slow bowlers did the bulk of the damage, Roston Chase and Kraigg Brathwaite contributing three wickets between them to support Bishoo's effort.
As was the case in the first innings, too often Zimbabwe were the authors of their own demise this afternoon. Sean Williams charged unnecessarily at Bishoo to be stumped, Sikandar Raza cut a long hop to extra cover, Malcolm Waller was run out after being called through for a non-existent single, and Regis Chakabva offered Chase a simple caught-and-bowled. Taylor, finally, took on Brathwaite's arm for an unlikely two and was run out with minutes to go before the scheduled close of play. From a relatively healthy 219 for 4, Zimbabwe stumbled to 253 for 8 with Taylor's needless dismissal, prompting West Indies to ask for an extra half hour that allowed them to romp to victory with a day to spare.
The balance of the match had been completely different during the first session of the day. Asked to survive six sessions or score 434 to avoid defeat after Roston Chase fell for 95 and West Indies were bowled out for 373 this morning, Zimbabwe's openers were off to steady start. They responded to testing spells from Bishoo with positive intent despite the turn and bounce on offer, setting a platform for an unlikely rearguard with 76 runs before lunch.
Masakadza once again profited from the pull shot, while Mire mixed crunching hits into the leg side with dabs and steers through gully. Such confident strokeplay was the hallmark of the opening stand, which was by far the longest of the innings, but it was eventually broken by Brathwaite's part-time offspin. Masakadza reached fifty from 87 deliveries - his first half century at this ground - but soon afterwards popped a regulation catch to Shai Hope at short leg.
With that, the hosts were 99 for 1, and that soon became 109 for 2 when Mire couldn't quite get his bat down on a Roach yorker in time and was bowled for 47. His dismissal brought Taylor to the crease, and he looked a very different batsman to the one who last played for Zimbabwe at the 2015 World Cup. Shorn of its flourishes and with no trigger movement, his still, upright batting oozed minimalist grace. He was also in no rush to get going, but some of the old shots were still there. His first boundary came from a ramped uppercut that went well over the wicketkeeper, and Taylor was to repeat the stroke more than once in his innings.
At the other end, Craig Ervine was similarly unhurried and looked in no trouble either until he played around a legbreak from Bishoo to be lbw for 18. Zimbabwe wasted a review attempting to reverse that decision, and there was a similar air of profligacy to Williams' innings. Rushing down the pitch at Bishoo, he was stumped for 6 to gift West Indies their fourth wicket of the session.
Perhaps chastened by his first innings effort, Raza was far more circumspect early on in his knock. Lunging to defend pace and spin alike, his only flourish was to biff Bishoo over wide long on for six and he looked well set when, against the run of play, he cut a loose long hop from the same bowler straight to Chase in the covers.
Zimbabwe were 219 for 4 with that dismissal, and deflated rapidly thereafter. A brain-fade from Taylor brought Waller's demise for 11, and soon afterwards Taylor committed harakiri to run himself out for 73. When Chase held onto a return catch from Chakabva and Bishoo also induced a caught-and-bowled to get rid of Cremer with the new ball, Zimbabwe were 263 for 9 and the match seemed, for all intents and purposes, over.
Chris Mpofu and Kyle Jarvis weren't quite done yet, however. Matching each other stroke for stroke, their devil-may-care batting provided the small crowd with some wonderful entertainment. Mpofu, in particular, drew smiles and cheers from his home crowd while spanking a career-best 33 during a last wicket stand of 53. When he was caught at long on attempting another big hit, West Indies wrapped up a victory that had seemed unlikely when they were bowled out for just 219 in their first innings on Saturday.
2nd Test
Day 1
Zimbabwe 169/4
West Indies
Hamilton Masakadza's fifth Test century carried Zimbabwe back into the match on a rainy first day at Queens Sports Club. Masakadza shared a 142-run partnership with PJ Moor to help the hosts recover from the depths of 14 for 3, Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel having scythed through the top order under gunmetal grey skies after Graeme Cremer had opted to bat. Moor fell for 52, but Masakadza was unbeaten and unbowed on 101 when rain brought the day to a premature end after tea.
As is often his wont, and possibly as an effect of the unseasonal cold that has descended on Bulawayo, Masakadza took some time to get going this morning. He did not score until his 17th delivery, and then did so in trademark style: thrashing a full ball through the covers with a solid crunch.
At 34, Masakadza is the senior statesman of the side and he displayed the class and patience befitting his position. His knock wasn't perfect, but he did enough to survive the edges and misses and was also granted the odd slice of luck. An edge off Roach fell short of the wicketkeeper, and a Gabriel no-ball granted a further reprieve.
Beaten by the pace of a bouncer in the 11th over, Masakadza seemed to have inside edged a pull onto his own shoulder, the rebound being caught at gully. Umpire Simon Fry turned down the appeal, West Indies reviewed and Masakadza started walking off. But Gabriel had overstepped, and the no-ball allowed Masakadza to bat on. The opener remained particularly fluent through the covers.
He found an obdurate partner in Moor, and gradually they helped Zimbabwe restore parity, the score creeping past 50 in the 21st over. Other teams have tested Moor with the short ball, and though the West Indies certainly have the personnel to do so their main line of attack was outside the off stump. Moor had the gumption to pick which ball to leave, and which to hit, and his patience barely faltered: his first boundary was a rasping cut off Holder in the 18th over, his second came more than 28 overs later and was no less well executed.
At the other end, Masakadza continued to gain momentum, passing fifty from 96 deliveries. He celebrated that milestone with his first six of the day, rocking back to thump a Bishoo long-hop over deep midwicket. Gabriel was driven whenever he overpitched, while the introduction of Roston Chase was greeted with yet another crunching drive. The same bowler was dispatched over midwicket for Masakadza's second six, the shot taking him past 2000 Test runs for Zimbabwe.
Moor reached a dogged fifty, from 148 deliveries soon after tea, and Masakadza then brought up his own milestone with a confident drive down to long-on in the 60th over, just before the rain arrived. This was Masakadza's fifth Test century, and his first since 2014.
His runs were sorely needed by Zimbabwe. In polar conditions this morning, Gabriel and Roach had cut the hosts' top order down to 14 for 3. The temperature was up to 38 degrees earlier this week, but plummeted ahead of this game and there were hands in pockets for the slips in the very cold weather. They stayed there for much of the morning with the sun nowhere to be seen, but Zimbabwe's feet were even more leaden in the cold, and the opening stand lasted just four overs.
Roach used the angle of his delivery stride and a touch of seam and swing to masterful effect to remove Solomon Mire, while the dismissal of Craig Ervine resulted more from fast bowling brawn than brain. Coming round the wicket from the Airport End, Gabriel speared a length delivery at the left-hander's middle stump, beating him for pace. Such was the speed of the delivery the stump snapped in half, and Zimbabwe were 11 for 2.
West Indies smelled blood, and Roach had three slips and a gully for the incoming Brendan Taylor. In the event, he needed no fielders at all as his testing lines and cunning changes of angle soon paid dividends. Neither forward nor back, and unsure whether to even play at a delivery whipping through the channel outside off, Taylor succeeded only in deflecting the ball onto his own stumps to leave Zimbabwe reeling at 14 for 3.
West Indies might have had a fourth wicket in the first hour, but Gabriel's front foot boo-boo gave Masakadza a second life. So far, he has made excellent use of it.
Day 2
Zimbabwe 326
West Indies 78/1 (49 ov)
West Indies trail by 248 runs with 9 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
Hamilton Masakadza and Sikandar Raza starred with the bat on the second day at Queens, but incisive bowling and attritional batting from West Indies ensured the honours were shared at stumps. Masakadza and Raza did enough to ensure that the hosts passed 300, which looked a long way off when they were 14 for 3 yesterday, but Zimbabwe's progress was stalled by openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Kieran Powell. They ground their way to an opening stand of 76 in almost 47 overs before Brathwaite was eventually prised from the crease, as nightwatchman Devendra Bishoo partnering Powell until the close.
The game had moved much faster in the morning, when Hamilton Masakadza cracked the first ball of the day through the covers for four, and then collected four boundaries in the space of seven deliveries before the first drinks break. He and Raza threatened to take the game away from West Indies with a stand that stretched to 90 runs, but with Masakadza's dismissal West Indies forced their way back into the game. The spinners struck repeatedly with the old ball to peg Zimbabwe back, and after lunch, the quicks used the new ball to deal with the tail, as the wickets were shared around.
Masakadza had looked set to surpass his Test best on the second morning, but Jason Holder's decision not to take the new ball when it was due slowed the game down, made scoring harder, and eventually helped West Indies break through. Three runs short of his 150, Masakadza attempted to force the pace with a slog sweep at Bishoo, but the ball ballooned off the top edge to be caught by wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich.
Malcolm Waller then went for a golden duck, flashing a drive over the top of an extravagantly flighted ball from Brathwaite, and Regis Chakabva never settled, missing a sweep at a Bishoo legbreak to be bowled for 10.
Only Raza stood firm, going to fifty with a swatted pull for six over midwicket off Bishoo. Picking the right balls to hit and using his feet effectively, he wore the responsibility of batting with the tail well and carried Zimbabwe past 300 with a flowing drive through cover point. The eventual arrival of the new ball brought about his demise, however. Raza drove at Shannon Gabriel but edged to second slip for 80 - the first catch to be taken in the slips off a pace bowler for either team all series. An overly adventurous single saw Cremer run-out for 11, and when Roach undid debutant Tendai Chisoro with a superb slower ball, Zimbabwe were all out for 326 midway through the second session.
The clouds that had engulfed Bulawayo on the first day parted in the afternoon, and West Indies' openers began their riposte under bright blue skies. There was a similar clarity to their batting, both men seeing the shine off the new ball ahead of stiffer challenges from Zimbabwe's spinners.
Cremer brought himself on as early as the 10th over, immediately finding the outer half of Powell's bat, though the edge fell short of slip. Raza, used ahead of specialist left-arm spinner Chisoro, also had a strong lbw shout turned down in his first over. Zimbabwe weren't helped by a couple of missed opportunities. Cremer missed two caught-and-bowled chances off Powell's bat straight after tea, but otherwise both Powell and Brathwaite's knocks were studies of attritional, risk-free accumulation; 19 of the 49 overs West Indies faced were maidens.
Chisoro eventually had a bowl late in the afternoon, and with his stock ball turning away from the right-hander, he looked particularly menacing when bowling at Brathwaite, beating his outside edge several times in his first spell of bowling in Tests. Yet it was Cremer, who had struggled for rhythm and consistency early in his spells, who eventually brought the breakthrough. Moments before the close, he got Brathwaite to spar at a quicker, flatter legspinner to be well caught by Masakadza at slip. After a lot of hard graft - West Indies made the lowest Test score after 40 overs in the 21st century - the wicket ensured the day ended with the balance of the match at an even keel.
Day 3
Zimbabwe 326
West Indies 374/7 (150 ov)
West Indies lead by 48 runs with 3 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
Sikandar Raza cut through West Indies to register his first five-wicket haul in professional cricket, but Jason Holder and Shane Dowrich combined to put on an unbroken 144-run eighth-wicket stand to give the visitors a 48-run first innings lead at stumps on day three.
After Kieran Powell fell for 90, West Indies' middle order collapsed to Raza's offspin as the visitors slipped to 230 for 7, still needing 96 to wipe out the deficit. But they were put back in front with a stand characterized by controlled aggression. Dowrich was batting on a career-best 75, while Holder had constructed an attractive unbeaten 71.
Raza's success aside, Zimbabwe had little else to cheer. A stiff ankle stopped Solomon Mire from bowling for most of the day, Graeme Cremer struggled for rhythm and Tendai Chisoro bowled well without any luck. The hosts missed five chances in the field and an injudicious use of the DRS ultimately allowed Holder and Dowrich's partnership to flourish.
Zimbabwe used their last review attempting to reverse an lbw decision against Powell despite the fact that he'd been struck well outside off. When Raza had a plumb leg before shout, with Holder on 11, turned down by umpire Kumar Dharmasena, they could do nothing about it. As it turned out, Holder didn't offer another chance.
Dowrich was the first to fifty, off 85 balls, and Holder followed him soon after, off 92. Their stand was just the third in West Indies history to pass 100 for the eighth wicket. As the partnership flourished, even Raza came in for some damage. Dowrich drove him repeatedly through the covers, while Holder stepped out to clout a huge six over long on.
Apart from those boundaries and a couple of tired long hops late in the day, Raza's control of line and length was exemplary and his repeated strikes lifted Zimbabwe. They were in need of some pepping up when Powell and nightwatchman Devendra Bishoo stretched their partnership beyond fifty on Tuesday morning. With Cremer struggling and edges flying between fielders or dropping in front of them in the first session, Powell eased past fifty from 133 deliveries, and slowly began to assert himself.
When a chance eventually did come, via the top edge of a Bishoo slog-sweep, it was put down by Brendan Taylor at midwicket - the first of five opportunities that Zimbabwe let slip through. It was left to Raza to make the breakthrough all on his own, drawing a false shot from Bishoo and holding on to a regulation caught-and-bowled chance.
Offering generous flight, Raza struck again soon after when an offbreak kept a little low to peg Kyle Hope, playing back, in front of middle stump. A desperate review couldn't save him, and West Indies went to the first drinks break at 135 for 3. When Powell was granted another life on 85 - having already been dropped on 11 on Monday - Zimbabwe's frustration began to show. But the new ball, taken half an hour before lunch, changed the complexion of the session.
Chris Mpofu got the hard new ball to leap alarmingly as Powell fended one to the diving Craig Ervine at gully to fall 10 short of his fourth Test century. The wicket put the pep back in Zimbabwe's step.
After the interval, the Raza Show kicked into top gear, West Indies stumbling from 219 for 4 to 230 for 7. He started with the breakthrough that stalled Roston Chase and Shai Hope's fifth wicket stand at 56, BY beating Chase's reverse sweep with a fizzing offbreak and dismiss him leg before for 32.
Jermaine Blackwood played too early at a delivery that bounced with a puff of dust and broke sharply in to him, chipping a catch to Cremer at midwicket. When Raza beat Shai Hope's defence to rattle his off stump for his fifth wicket, he set off on a celebratory run.
This was the first five-for from a Zimbabwean spinner at Queens Sports Club since Ray Price's 5 for 199 against West Indies in 2003, but the celebrations was short-lived. The early lbw aside, Holder didn't give Zimbabwe a sniff and Dowrich was similarly limpet-like.
Bad balls were inevitably carted to the boundary, and Zimbabwe wilted noticeably in the afternoon sun as the pair put on just the third 100-run eighth wicket stand in West Indies Test history. They ended the day with the all-time eighth wicket West Indies record - the 148 put on by Jimmy Adams and Franklyn Rose against Zimbabwe in 2000 - and a healthy lead within their sights.
Day 4
Zimbabwe 326 & 140/4 (67 ov)
West Indies 448
Zimbabwe lead by 18 runs with 6 wickets remaining
The fourth day in Bulawayo drew tenacious performances from batsmen on both sides, but West Indies will still go into the final day as firm favourites. Record contributions from Jason Holder and Shane Dowrich and quick wickets in Zimbabwe's second innings put them in a virtually unassailable position. It took a battling unbeaten 94-runstand from Sikandar Raza and PJ Moor to stretch the match into a fifth day.
While Raza and Moor's efforts stalled West Indies' push for victory, the day belonged to Holder and Dowrich, who added 212, the most by an eighth-wicket pair for West Indies. Holder's century was his second in Tests, and the first by a West Indies No. 9, while Dowrich's joy at reaching his own maiden Test hundred was plainly evident.
Not since 1908 have both a no. 8 and no. 9 made centuries in the same innings of a Test. Clem Hill and Roger Hartigan did it for Australia against England at the Adelaide Oval, and Holder and Dowrich repeated that achievement against Zimbabwe to put their team in a winning position. Their efforts took West Indies to 448, a lead of 122, before the bowlers increased their advantage even further in keeping Zimbabwe to 140 for 4 at the close.
It was apparent early on this morning that this might not be Zimbabwe's day. Regis Chakabva, who has had a difficult match behind the stumps, missed an edge of a flashing Holder drive in the sixth over of the morning and the West Indies captain punished the error as Zimbabwe's marathon in the field continued unabated.
Holder and Dowrich mixed studied defense with daring strokes, and the arrival of the third new ball provided few alarms. Zimbabwe quickly reverted from pace to spin, and both men progressed steadily through the 90s. Holder was first to his ton, crunching Chisoro extravagantly through the covers for his ninth boundary.
Dowrich reached his landmark in even more emphatic style, stepping out to dispatch Cremer high over long off. Holder added another six - his second - as West Indies went on the charge, but the increase in tempo was quickly followed by the end of the innings. Chisoro trapped Dowrich lbw, playing back to one that rushed on, for his maiden Test wicket, and then bowled Holder around his legs. The spinner grabbed a third wicket, removing Roach lbw, to bring the innings to an end half an hour before lunch.
Though he failed with the bat, Roach excelled at his primary role as senior seamer. Operating from the City End, he got the better of Masakadza with a canny piece of Test fast bowling to draw first blood. Looking to leave the ball, Masakadza was deceived by Roach's wide angle on delivery and some hooping inswing to have his off stump disturbed.
Mire then aimed an ill-judged pull at a length delivery in the final over before lunch, the ball keeping low to strike him in front of middle and leg. A pumped-up Roach gave Mire a rollicking send-off, earning a demerit point in the process. The lunch session allowed West Indies' new ball bowlers to freshen up and, essentially, have two gos at the wilting Zimbabweans, and Shannon Gabriel bowled with vim and vigour after the interval. He hit Taylor on the glove with a bouncer that skidded through low, and between times maintained a testing line outside off stump. That line, along with pace and inward movement, eventually proved Taylor's undoing, an indipper beating his flat-footed defense and pinging him right in front of middle.
With that, Zimbabwe were teetering at 23 for 3, and the pace bowlers continued to give PJ Moor and Craig Ervine a torrid time. They survived the burst, Holder replacing Roach from the City End, but what Roach couldn't do, Bishoo soon did. With his second delivery, he rushed a legbreak through Ervine's defense to bowl him for 22.
Moor and Raza took Zimbabwe to tea still 57 runs shy of making West Indies bat again, and amid lengthening shadows in the afternoon they chipped steadily away at the deficit. Mirroring his first innings effort, Moor shelved most of the big shots he is known for, though a pair of drives off Holder and Bishoo were the shots of the day. He was less successful against Gabriel, who touched 150kph in the afternoon and beat his edge multiple times.
At the other end, Raza was far less subdued and latched onto any loose bowling that came his way. Roach was flicked and driven for boundaries, while the spinners were attacked whenever they were too short, or too full. Bishoo was drilled for six over wide long on, and a quick single took Raza to a 111-ball fifty just after the final drinks break. The batting pair took Zimbabwe beyond parity, ensuring West Indies will at least have to bat again tomorrow.
Day 5
Zimbabwe 326 & 301/7
West Indies 448
Match drawn
Zimbabwe's battling rearguard secured a draw in the second Test at Queens Sports Club, but West Indies still took the series 1-0, their first Test series win under Jason Holder. Sikandar Raza's 89 and Regis Chakabva's 71 not out formed the backbone of their effort on the final day. Their obduracy was matched by Graeme Cremer, the captain, who blunted 150 deliveries for his 28 not out when both sides shook hands and settled for a draw at the start of the mandatory overs.
Raza, who also scored 80 in the first innings, became the second player in history after Jacques Kallis to pass 80 twice and take five wickets in a Test, was named Man of the Match. Devendra Bishoo, with 13 wickets across two Tests, was named Man of the Series.
While the match ended very tamely in the afternoon, West Indies had been probing with both seam and spin for much of the day, with wickets shared around. But neither the old ball nor the new could prise a limpet-like Chakabva from the crease, and he added an unbroken 91 with Cremer to stall West Indies' push for victory.
Chakabva played and missed several deliveries during the day and even ducked into a Holder bouncer that never got above waist height, but his defence held firm when it really mattered and bad balls were met with confident strokes. It had been eight innings - and almost three years - since he last passed fifty in a Test match, and this knock, which stretched on for almost 64 overs, will go some way towards securing his place in the side for their next Test against South Africa.
The hosts were also buoyed by Raza's gritty innings, which stretched for more than five hours and 203 deliveries before he inside edged a Holder inswinger onto his stumps. During a brave, battling knock Raza survived an lbw decision given against him and a withering blow to the knee, cobbling together stands of 98 with PJ Moor, 28 with Malcolm Waller and 38 with Chakabva.
Much of his work with Moor came on Wednesday, and the pair had had added just four runs to their partnership when West Indies broke through almost first thing this morning. Holder positioned Shai Hope at gully, having noticed the angled bat that Moor was playing with. The plan worked to perfection, Moor guiding a length delivery straight to the fielder to depart for 42, Zimbabwe 144 for 5.
A nervous starter, Waller settled in against the quicks, but the introduction of spin quickly brought another wicket. Coming around the stumps and landing a ball in the rough outside leg, Bishoo ripped one across him and a tame poke presented an easy catch to Jermaine Blackwood at slip.
Zimbabwe were 172 for 6 when Waller fell an hour or so before lunch and the new ball was available, but as was the case in Zimbabwe's first innings West Indies decided not to take it straight away. There was still significant movement and inconsistent bounce for the quicks, and the softening old ball also ensured that neither Raza nor Chakabva could get full value for all their shots.
Raza, who had survived a West Indies review in the morning, used a review of his own to reverse an lbw decision against him five overs into his partnership with Chakabva. Roach was by this time getting the old ball to reverse alarmingly, and hooped one past Raza's hopping glance to strike him on the left knee roll. Roach bellowed an appeal, and Dharmasena gave it out almost immediately, but the review showed the ball missing leg stump. In the same over Roach snaked a waspish delivery in viciously to strike Raza on the inner knee. He was able to continue batting, but hobbled his way through to lunch.
At the other end, Chakabva opened his account from his 14th delivery, and swiped a brace of boundaries when Bishoo dropped short. He showed some uncertainty outside off stump against the genuine pace of Gabriel, but did enough to survive and keep stretching out Zimbabwe's lead.
West Indies did finally take the new ball in the over before lunch, and Holder used it to break breach Raza's defences just after the interval. Playing the wrong line to one that jagged in to him, Raza had his off stump disturbed. A window had opened for West Indies with Zimbabwe tottering at 210 for 7, with the better part of two sessions remaining.
But West Indies had used up all their reviews trying to get rid of Raza, and this detail gained crucial importance as the afternoon wore on. First, Cremer gloved a bouncer from Holder onto his shoulder, the chance being pouched by a leaping Dowrich, but the appeal was turned down.
Then, ten minutes before tea, Roston Chase zipped one in to Cremer's pads, but the appeal lacked conviction and umpire Kumar Dharmasena wasn't convinced. Replays showed three reds on the ball tracker. Moments before the tea interval, Chase once again struck Cremer on the pad, but again it was given not out and West Indies could do nothing about the decision.
Cremer made the most of the chances, soaking up well over 100 deliveries, and after tea it soon became apparent that the match was drifting inexorably towards a draw. Kraigg Brathwaite, Blackwood and Kieran Powell took over bowling duties from a tired attack, and with shadows lengthening the captains got together and decided to bring a hard-fought Test to an end.
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