Devendra Bishoo finished with figures of 4-105 off 32 overs

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

Devendra Bishoo proved to be a nightmare for the Zimbabwe batsmen once again as his four-wicket haul saw the West Indies triumph by 117 runs on the fourth day in Bulawayo and take a 1-0 lead in the two-Test series.

Starting off the day on 369/8, the West Indies were dealt a huge blow on the first ball of the day as Kemar Roach was clean bowled by Zimbabwe captain Graeme Cremer for a golden duck.

The West Indies ended up being bowled out for 373, which set Zimbabwe a target of 434 to win, when Roston Chase was cleaned up by Sean Williams for 95, which came off 139 balls and included eight boundaries and a six.

Cremer was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets, while Williams snapped up three, Kyle Jarvis took two and Sikandar Raza chipped in with one.

Chasing 434 to win, Zimbabwe got off to a brilliant start as openers Hamilton Masakadza and debutant Solomon Mire amassed a 99-run partnership, during which Masakadza brought up his fifty.

However, he was unable to make the most of it as he was dismissed by Kraigg Brathwaite for 57, which came off 93 balls and included 10 boundaries.

Mire was within touching distance of his maiden half-century when he was clean bowled by Roach for 47.

Craig Ervine made 18 runs before he was trapped lbw off the bowling of Bishoo, while Williams only scored six runs before being stumped by Shane Dowrich off the bowling of Bishoo.

Brendan Taylor and Raza stabilised the innings with a 64-run partnership before Raza was caught by Chase at short extra cover off the bowling of Bishoo for 30.

Zimbabwe began to lose wickets at regular intervals after Raza’s dismissal, including that of Taylor, who went on to score 73 off 151 balls, which included eight boundaries.

With the hosts having been reduced to 263/9 and on the verge of losing the match, Jarvis and Chris Mpofu provided some resistance as they forged a 53-run stand.

However, their efforts went in vain as Zimbabwe were bowled out for 316 when Mpofu was caught by Powell at long-on off the bowling of Chase for a career-best 33.

Jarvis, meanwhile, was left stranded on 23 runs, which came off 41 deliveries and included three boundaries.

Bishoo was the most successful bowler with four wickets, while Chase took two. As for Roach and Brathwaite, they claimed one wicket each.

Cremer was disappointed to have lost, and said: “Little bit disappointing. We went really well on the first day, getting them all out for 219 was excellent. West Indies came back really well and they put the bad balls away. We started well [today] but it always gets tougher, and their spinners did well. Credit to them.

“[Put the collapse down to] complacency watching batsmen being comfortable, or maybe it’s concentration. Solly [Mire] will just get better and better, he looked really comfortable out there. Hamilton has been great for us too and we need him to kick on. We relied on our three spinners – our seamers bowled well on a tough wicket. We’re pretty happy with the balance of the team, we just need to get some runs. The more you play, the more you work out situations. Sometimes you don’t realise how much time you have in a Test match. It’s about working those things out.”

West Indies captain Jason Holder was pleased to have won, and said: “Started well with the bat and lost our way. Credit must go to the Zimbabweans who set really good fields and kept it tight. It was a tough pitch to get started on. We backed our bowlers to put pressure on them. I guess it took guys a little longer to get adjusted to the pitch and it became easier to bat on for both teams.

“It was hard work for the fast bowlers and every fast bowler in the game put in a lot of effort; hopefully there’s more help in the next game. Bishoo was great – not only with the ball, he contributed with the bat as well. [About why Brathwaite bowled before Chase] Kraigg is under-rated and there was a bit of bounce. He’s done it before for us and he’s got a six-for for us before. Got us the breakthrough today so it worked out.”

Bishoo was named Man of the Match, and said: “Was nice having a long bowl, in England it was a bit tough but had to make use here. I stayed patient and the wicket was spinning a lot, so I just had to put the ball in the areas and nothing more. [About his first Test fifty] I was very disappointed yesterday and hopefully next time I’ll use my brain more and get it.”