Two-time World Champions West Indies beat Zimbabwe in their ‘must win’ Group B match of the T20 World Cup at Bellerive Oval, Hobart, on Wednesday and they are now still alive in Group B for a Super 12 spot.
Alzarri Joseph’s four-wicket haul and a 45-run knock by Johnson Charles, guided West Indies to victory by 31 runs against Zimbabwe in Group B match of the ongoing T20 World Cup at Bellerive Oval, Hobart, on Wednesday.
Chasing 154, Zimbabwe started off a good note with Wesley Madhevere smashing 27 runs off 19 balls but Zimbabwe lost wickets in a quick procession.
Within 8.0 overs, West Indies scalped five wickets and left West Indies struggling at 66. Later West Indies bowlers struck one-by-one and bundled out Zimbabwe at 122.
Jason Holder came to pick up 3 wickets, rattling the Zimbabwe middle-over.
Once again, Alzarri Joseph who returned after bagging two wickets in the powerplay, dismissed Luke Jongwe and Richard Ngarava to all but end Zimbabwe’s hopes.
From 58/3, Zimbabwe lost the last 7 wickets for 64 runs to be on brink of a first-round exit.
Alzarri Joseph (4/16) and Jason Holder (3/12) starred with the ball helping West Indies move to 3rd spot.
Earlier, West Indies posted 153 for 7 after electing to bat, led by Johnson Charles’s 36-ball 45 and backed up by handy contributions by Rovman Powell (21-ball 28) and Akeal Hosein (18-ball 23).
A win for both sides will keep them in the hunt heading into the final round of qualification matches on Friday with West Indies taking on Ireland and Zimbabwe set to face Scotland in the final game.
Brief Scores: West Indies 153/7 in 20 overs (Johnson Charles 45, Rovman Powell 28; Sikandar Raza 3-19, Blessing Muzarabani 2-38) beat Zimbabwe 122 in 18.2 overs (Luke Jongwe 29, Wesley Madhevere 27; Alzarri joseph 4-16, Jason Holder 3-12) by 31 runs