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Zimbabwe stun West Indies to storm into Super Sixes with full points

Published

3 years ago

2023/06/25

Priyan

Sikandar Raza is pumped up after dismissing Shai Hope

Before the game, West Indies were favourites. At the halfway mark, West Indies remained favourites. And at the midway point of the chase, West Indies were arguably even stronger favourites. Yet, somehow, improbably, preposterously, it’s Zimbabwe that emerged winners by 35 runs, in front of a raucous crowd in Harare.

By virtue of this win, Zimbabwe carry over a strong net run rate into the next round, and two points from this game as well as the same from their win against Netherlands. With a tricky game against Sri Lanka to come in the Super Sixes stage, these could prove vital in boosting their qualification chances – the top two teams from the Super Sixes book their passage to India for the World Cup.

West Indies and Netherlands, the other two teams that are through to the Super Sixes from this group, will now battle to carry over two vital points themselves when they meet on Monday.

The stats from today will show that Sikandar Raza was yet again Player of the Match, picking up two wickets to go with his 58-ball 68. It will show that the under-fire Tendai Chatra with figures of 3 for 52 was the pick of the Zimbabwe bowlers. And it will show Alzarri Joseph with an inconsequential 2 for 42. But this a game that took place within the margins.

It all began rather cagily, with Zimbabwe put into bat on a good batting track but one that was expected to provide some early movement for the seamers. The West Indies seamers, particularly Joseph, exploited the favourable conditions expertly, deriving extra bounce off a good length and moving the ball in the air and off the surface. While it wasn’t exactly an overcast morning in Auckland, it nevertheless brought out the more cautious side of openers Joylord Gumbie and Craig Ervine. By the end of the 10th over they had reached just 37.

West Indies were playing the part in the field too, hurrying behind every lost cause and throwing themselves around to gain any edge. The pressure eventually would tell midway through the 15th over, when Ervine would chip an attempted loft straight to mid-on. But the chance would be spilled – a theme that would recur throughout the innings.

Ervine would eventually fall for 47, but that was 22 extra runs from the point he was dropped. These extra runs would add up. The most egregious missed opportunities though would come off Raza, who was dropped on 1 and 7 off Joseph on the way to what would be a match-winning 68. Ryan Burl would be the other batter to enjoy a second life, being grassed on 39 on his way a fifth ODI fifty.

For West Indies, these would be particularly disappointing in that even discounting these missed chances, their bowling was so effective Zimbabwe were still limited to a subpar 268 – a score Ervine and Raza conceded was about 30 runs short of what they would have liked.

The final 10 overs of Zimbabwe’s innings went for 75 runs, 25 of which came courtesy a streaky last-wicket stand between Chatara and Blessing Muzarabani. That partnership though highlighted the spirit in which Zimbabwe played this game, as the crowd cheered every run and every extra like it were a boundary.

It was this momentum that was carried over into Zimbabwe’s fielding effort, where despite a rollicking start from the West Indies openers – they put on 43 in 6.3 overs – the hosts managed to reel it back, picking up two quick wickets, and then stringing together a period of such sustained pressure that they strung together 16 straight dot deliveries.

All the while, the crowd was amping up, never losing hope. Not even when Kyle Mayers broke loose and struck Muzarabani for a hat-trick of boundaries, nor when his partnership with Shai Hope was reaching threatening levels. And especially not when Mayers holed out at long-off.

For a brief period Hope and Nicholas Pooran looked threatening in a 24-run stand, but then Hope was castled by Raza. Pooran then strung together 41 with Roston Chase, inclusive of some monster hits down the ground, but then Richard Ngarava returned to trap him leg before with a dipping in-swinger on middle and leg. Was it going down leg? Perhaps. But there was no DRS for it to matter. In a game of such fine margins, it was scarcely out of place.

And this would continue to be the pattern of the game. West Indies would chip away, threaten to pull clear, and Zimbabwe would reel them back. The crowd raised their tempo throughout; with each subsequent wicket it would get louder, until eventually the West Indies batters were gradually worn down.

When nudging it around and singles would have sufficed, Keemo Paul would be trapped lbw looking to reverse-sweep. Jason Holder, having put together 37 with Roston Chase, would fish outside the off stump and edge through to the keeper. Chase would be the penultimate man to fall, chopping on trying to cut one that was too close to cut. The last would be Joseph, the man who had had so many chances put down, flicking low and hard straight to a catching midwicket, with none other than Raza stationed there.

Should West Indies miss out on the big prize – that spot in the 2023 World Cup – it’s a game they will look back on and wonder how it came to be. And so, indeed, might Zimbabwe.

Brief scores:

Zimbabwe 268 in 49.5 overs (Sikandar Raza 68, Jaylord Gumbie 26, Craig Ervine 47, Sean Williams 23, Ryan Burl 50; Alzarri Joseph 2-42, Keemo Paul 3-61, Akeal Hosein 2-45) beat West Indies 233 in 44.4 overs (Brandon King 20, Kyle Mayers 56, Shai Hope 30, Nicholas Pooran 34, Roston Chase 44; Tendai Chatara 3-52, Blessing Muzarabani 2-33, Richard Ngarva 2-25, Sikandar Raza 2-36) by 35 runs

(Cricinfo)

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More than 360 dead, 1,400 missing in Nepal and Tibet after Himalayan floods

Published

4 hours ago

2026/08/27

Priyan

A drone view shows mud covering buildings and property following devastating floods at Trishuli in Nuwakot district, Nepal, on August 27, 2026 [Aljazeera]

Some 360 bodies have been recovered and more than 1,400 people are missing across Nepal and China’s Tibet region after a huge collapse of mud and rock into a Himalayan river triggered catastrophic flooding across local towns and valleys, authorities have said.

Rescue teams waded through mud on Thursday searching for the missing, as authorities in Nepal said at least 359 people have been killed there.

At least three people have died in the neighbouring Tibet region.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrived at the mudslide site in Tibet on Thursday afternoon to “guide emergency rescue and relief work” a day after the disaster, state media reported.

Nepalese police and tourism officials said that more than 500 foreigners were among 910 people missing in Nepal.

Among the missing are tourists from more than two dozen countries: 177 are from India, 63 from the United States, 34 from Australia, 33 from the United Kingdom, and 25 from Canada.

Beijing’s foreign ministry also said nearly 100 Chinese nationals were among the missing in Nepal.

In Tibet’s Gyirong county, 558 people are reported missing, including 260 foreign nationals, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

Search and rescue operations are proving to be a “massive challenge” as just simply “getting to the affected areas … to try and recover the survivors”, is proving to be extremely difficult as the roads and bridges there have suffered extensive damage, said Al Jazeera’s Minelle Fernandez, reporting from the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu.

[Aljazeera]

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Unyielding Dinusha, spirited tail hold off India to save Colombo Test

Published

7 hours ago

2026/08/27

Priyan

Dinusha hit his second century of the Test to wear out India [SLC]

Sonal Dinusha put up an impressive resistance to keep the Indian bowlers at bay on the final day, helping Sri Lanka save the second Test in Colombo after they were asked to follow-on. In a seven-hour vigil, Dinusha remained unbeaten on 133 and, with handy lower order support, ensured that India didn’t bat a second time in the Test. This was the first time in nine occasions that India failed to secure a victory after enforcing a follow-on against Sri Lanka.

Needing only four wickets on the final day in order to begin the chase, the Indian bowlers had to toil hard on a surface which offered a bit of turn, but largely predictable pace and bounce. Overnight batters Dinusha and Keshara Nuwantha kept the Indians all through the morning session even though the new ball was taken within the first half an hour of play.

The seventh-wicket stand stretched to 88 runs, consuming more than 40 overs, which also ensured Sri Lanka cleared the first innings deficit. The first strike of the day came soon after the lunch break when Manav Suthar got a delivery to spin in sharply and took the outside edge of Nuwantha’s bat to the second slip.

Prabath Jayasuriya continued to remain defiant, resisting for 28 balls before his attempted drive off Ravindra Jadeja took the outside edge to Dhruv Jurel at second slip. Even as the lead swelled past the 150-run mark with only two wickets remaining and nearly a session and a half to play, the Indians had enough incentive to go for the kill.

However, Lahiru Kumara provided much-needed support to Dinusha as the duo put an end to India’s hopes. The southpaw used the sweep to good effect to counter the turn. The duo chewed up 169 deliveries for 47 runs in a period of attritional batting, during which Dinusha brought up his century. Kumara did provide India a chance when he attempted a slog sweep which fell in front of Jurel at deep mid wicket soon after Dinusha reached his century. But that was a rare opportunity.

Kumara eventually departed on 12 when an inside edge was pouched at short leg by Yashasvi Jaiswal. Nonetheless, which the number of overs reducing, Dinusha took Sri Lanka till the end of day without any further trouble and helped avoid a whitewash.

Brief scores:
India 503/9 decl (Devdutt Padikkal 117, Dhruv Jurel 115; Asitha Fernando 4-106, Prabath Jayasuriya 2-132) drew with Sri Lanka 290 (Sonal Dinusha 103, Pasindu Sooriyabandara 80; Prasidh Krishna 3-52, Manav Suthar 3-85) and 429/9 f/o (Sonal Dinusha 133*, Pasindu Sooriyabandara 92; Ravindra Jadeja 3-94, Manav Suthar 3-121)

[Cricbuzz]

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UAE’s Asif Khan handed 15-month ban for using a banned substance

Published

10 hours ago

2026/08/27

Priyan

Asif Khan turned out in 94 internationals for UAE [Cricinfo]

Asif Khan the UAE batter, has been banned for 15 months after admitting to having tested positive for a banned substance – “a metabolite of mesterolone” – in an out-of-competition test conducted in September 2025, the ICC said in a statement on Thursday.

The statement said that Asif, 36, “had admitted the violation” of Article 2.1 of the ICC’s anti-doping code and accepted the period of ineligibility “pursuant to a case resolution agreement entered into with the World Anti-Doping Agency and the ICC”, which means there is no right to appeal on the part of the player.

The sanction is effective from September 8, 2025 and will run until December 7, 2026.

“Asif may return to training with a team or use the facilities of a club or other ICC Member organisation from 8 October 2026 but will only be eligible to play from 8 December,” the statement added. “The player’s individual results from 8 September 2025 until his provisional suspension on 29 December 2025 have been disqualified, along with all resulting consequences, including the loss of any medals, points, prize money or prizes.”

Asif, a former Pakistan Under-19 cricketer, made his UAE debut in March 2022 in an ODI against Oman in the ICC’s Cricket World Cup League 2. He turned out in 38 ODIs and 56 T20Is between then and September 2025.

The last three of those T20Is, against India, Oman and Pakistan in the T20 Asia Cup in 2025, came after September 8, and will be removed from his record.

[Cricinfo]