Match No.8 of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 was played between Zimbabwe and West Indies on 19 October, Wednesday in Hobart. West Indies scored 153 runs with the loss of 7 wickets. Zimbabwe could only score 122 runs before getting all out in the 19th over. West Indian bowler Alzarri Joseph took 4 wickets for 16 runs.
Batting first West Indies managed to put a respectable total on the board despite their middle-order collapse. They scored 153 runs at the loss of 7 wickets. At halfway point, West Indies were batting strong to reach 180 runs. But they suffered a major collapse in the middle by the Zimbabwean spinners. They lost 4 wickets for only 11 runs including their captain Nicholas Pooran. Opener Johnson Charles was the highest scorer in the first innings with 45 runs in 36 balls. Rovman Powell stabilized the innings after the collapse and made 28 runs in 21 balls. With the help of Akeal Hosein’s ( 23 in 18) finish, in the end, West Indies reached a fighting total.
For Zimbabwe, fast bowler Muzarabani took 2 wickets. But all-rounder Sikander Raza almost crippled the West Indian batting lineup with his ferocious spell of 4 overs 19 runs with 3 wickets. Spinner Sean Williams also took 1 wicket.
Zimbabwe started the chase strongly and looked to wrap up the match quickly. But after the 5th over wickets started getting the better of Zimbabwean batters. Once their star batter Sikander Raza was dismissed in the 8th over. It looked bleak. Apart from openers, no batters impressed the fans.
For West Indies, credit goes to Alzarri Joseph who single-handedly managed to strike down Zimbabwe’s batting lineup. He bowled at the right lengths to take 4 wickets only giving 16 runs in the process. Along with him, Jason Holder also bowled brilliantly and complemented Joseph’s efforts. He took 3 wickets for 12 runs. Over McCoy, Odean Smith, and Akeal Hosein took 1 wicket each.
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Alzarri Joseph was awarded Player of the match for his match-winning efforts.
West Indies struck down the dangerous side of Zimbabwe to register their first win in the world cup. They will look forward to their next match to qualify for the next round.
