Zimbabwe vs West Indies
Day 3 of 2nd Test
Venue: Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo
Result: West Indies won by an innings and 4 runs
Series: West Indies won 1-0
Scorecard: https://www.windiescricket.com/matches/215133/#scorecard
Gudakesh Motie took six wickets in the second innings to establish several new records as he bowled West Indies to a big win over Zimbabwe on Tuesday. The left-arm spinner took 6-62 to follow up his 7-37 in the first innings to end with match figures of 13-99. He was brilliant throughout the match and bowled the visitors to victory by an innings and four runs and a 1-0 series win.
Zimbabwe were bowled out for 115 in their first innings on the first day. The West Indies replied with 292, adding two runs to their overnight score when play resumed on Tuesday because of a rain delay. Motie returned to torment the home side in the second innings for 173 just after tea to record the historic win.
Only captain Craig Ervine, who scored 72, offered any resistance but when he was trapped leg-before to Motie, who was named the Man-of-the-Match and the Player-of-the-Series.
Motie was elated with his performance in just his third Test appearance and the team’s overall success. “I was very happy about it. I worked really hard enough … had a lot of practice and back in my country, the wickets are similar, and I reaped the rewards here.”
Motie’s matchh figures were the third best all time and best by a spinner in the 95-year history of West Indies cricket. The best all time is 14-149 by Michael Holding against England in 1976. The previous best by a spinner was 11-152 by Sonny Ramadhin against England back in 1950.
West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite said the success in Zimbabwe was crucial for momentum when his team crosses over into South Africa for a multiple format tour, beginning with two Tests starting on 28 February at SuperSport Park in Centurion.
“It’s a good feeling, I think winning any game is always a habit, winning is a habit,” Brathwaite said. “So, this is very important. It will be a tougher South Africa team, and we will see when we get there. … The more test cricket you play, the better. It’s good to have these two back-to-back series, we don’t take it lightly.”
