Gudakesh Motie spun visitors West Indies to a position of strength in their second cricket Test match against Zimbabwe after retaining career best figures of 7 for 37 on day one as the hosts were bowled out for just 115 runs in their first innings, at Queens Sports Club yesterday.
The hosts won the toss and elected to bat on what looked like a flat wicket which proved difficult to bat on and their troubles were compounded further by the loss of their first Test centurion Garry Balance due to a severe migraine.
Tanunurwa Makoni was the first to go for a 24-ball duck when Alzarri Joseph pitched the ball up and it shaped away, kissing his outside edge and was brilliantly caught by the West Indies wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva.
Chamunorwa Chibhabha didn’t last long at the crease after he tried to flick a full delivery from Jason Holder but found Tagenarine Chanderpaul at backward point.
Innocent Kaia who top-scored for Zimbabwe with 38 runs, was looking good as he punished all the bad balls and looked like he was batting on a different pitch to his team mates.
He was scoring at a healthy strike rate until he went fishing outside of off stump and became Holder's second wicket of the morning.
Zimbabwe lost the wickets of Milton Shumba and Tafadzwa Tsiga to go for the lunch break 70-5.
Wickets continued to tumble after lunch as Motti got into his groove as he started finding some purchase from the wicket bowling from the Airport End.
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Bulls to charge into Zimbabwe gold stocks
- Ndiraya concerned as goals dry up
- Letters: How solar power is transforming African farms
Keep Reading
Captain Craig Ervine was the first to go after lunch as missed a straight delivery from Motti, he played for turn but the ball didn’t turn enough for him to play the slog sweep and he was given out lbw by Australian umpire Paul Reiffel for 22 runs.
That was the fifth wicket for Motti.
He wasn’t finished yet he claimed two more wickets and bowled Zimbabwe an hour into the second session.
At one point the Chevrons didn’t look like they were going to cross hundred but Donald Tiripano’s unbeaten 23 helped them to get to 115.
The home team then fought back with the ball, Wellington Masakdadza dismissing Kraigg Brathwaite for the third time this series.
A 73-second wicket partnership between Chanderpaul and Raymon Reifer put West Indies briefly on top before the former top edged a Brandon Mavuta leg break and was caught by Tiripano.
Just after West Indies had a 2-run lead, Reifer who had just got to a half century was brilliantly run out Tanaka Chivanga’s quick throw to the wicketkeeper Tsiga and was not even in the picture when bails were dislodged.
This sparked some wild celebrations in the stands which had a good crowd for a Test match. West Indies were three down and their lead not sizable.
Mavuta struck again, a long hop that could have gone anywhere by Jermaine Blackwood found Victor Nyauchi at midwicket and Zimbabwe were right back into the match.
When the umpires called off play due to bad light with six overs still to be bowled, West Indies were 133-4, a lead of 18 runs.
Brendon Mavuta, who took a fifer in the first Test, took 2 for 24 while Masakadza had 1 for 32 going into day two today.
Motie was happy with his achievements and gave an insight on how the pitch is playing.
“I'm very happy. First fiver in Test cricket. The pitch was doing a lot from outside off for left-handers, so I thought we had a chance. I think the plan is just to bat and bat long and put on a big first-innings total.”
Zimbabwe went into the series without all-rounder Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza with the former injured while the latter is in Asia where he is playing league cricket.
