BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe: Shane Dowrich and Jason Holder scored centuries as West Indies hammered home their advantage on day four of the second and final Test against Zimbabwe at the Queens Sports Club on Wednesday.
The tourists posted 448 all out in their first innings before reducing Zimbabwe to 140 for four at the close of play, a lead of just 18 runs for the home side with six second innings wickets remaining.
Zimbabwe have mounted something of a recovery, though, with Sikandar Raza (58 not out) and Peter Moor (39 not out) putting on an unbeaten stand of 94 for the fifth wicket.
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-runs and 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.
Zimbabwe won toss
Zimbabwe 1st Innings 326 all-out (H Masakadza 147; K Roach 3-44)
West Indies 1st Innings 448 all-out (J Holder 110, S Dowrich 103; Sikandar 5-99)
Zimbabwe 2nd Innings
H Masakadza b Roach 5
S F Mire lbw b Roach 0
C R Ervine b Bishoo 22
B R M Taylor lbw b Gabriel 10
P J Moor not out 39
Sikandar Raza not out 58
Extras (b 1, lb 5) 6
Total 140/4 (4 wickets; 67 Overs) 140
To bat: M N Waller, †R W Chakabva, *A G Cremer, T S Chisoro, C B Mpofu
Fall: 1-5, 2-8, 3-23, 4-46
Bowling: Gabriel 13-6-16-1; Roach 12-7-14-2; Brathwaite 9-1-19-0; Holder 12-2-29-0; Bishoo 13-3-38-1; Chase 2-0-7-0; Blackwood 6-3-11-0
Test debut: T S Chisoro (Zimbabwe)
Umpires: K Dharmasena (Sri Lanka) and S Fry (Australia). TV Umpires: P Reiffel (Australia). Match Referee: J Srinath (India)
