Innings Zimbabwe 257 (Ervine 92, Raza 77, Carlos Brathwaite 4-48) v West Indies
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Craig Ervine hit six fours during his 100-ball 92 © AFP
Craig Ervine and Sikandar Raza showed attacking enterprise during their 144-run partnership for the third wicket, but a flurry of late strikes set Zimbabwe back to 257 in the tri-series match against West Indies in Bulawayo. Once Raza holed out to long-off for 77, Zimbabwe lost 8 for 67, but they managed to last 50 overs for the first time in eight attempts in 2016.
With both Sri Lanka and West Indies gaining bonus points from their opening wins, the pressure was on Zimbabwe to stop the tri-series from becoming a two-horse race.
Ervine and Raza made the running for Zimbabwe by placing the ball into the gaps with laser-guided precision. In between, there were some occasional hefty blows too. They joined forces at the start of the 14th over, and West Indies did not find a way past them until the 39th over. By then the score was nearly 200.
With variable bounce challenging the batsmen, West Indies persisted with a short extra cover even in the 32nd over, but Ervine and Raza refrained themselves from playing across the line, especially early in their innings. Once the pitch eased out, they showcased their gallery of shots.
Ervine swept, reverse-swept, and often raced down the track to throw Sulieman Benn and Ashley Nurse, who did not get much turn, off their tracks. He was the first to reach his fifty off 62 balls. Raza then reached his milestone off 59 balls and took the lead. He pulled powerfully – both with his feet in the air and on the ground – but arguably the most memorable shot of his was the wristy glide, which bisected backward point and short third man in the 35th over.
Full report to follow
Deivarayan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo