Nicholas Pooran: Alzarri is the best

West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran hails star pacer Joseph, whose 4-16 helped two-time champs beat Zimbabwe by 31 runs to stay alive in T20 World Cup; Ireland trump Scotland

A fiery four-wicket spell from pace bowler Alzarri Joseph helped the two-time champion West Indies storm past Zimbabwe by 31 runs to keep their Twenty20 World Cup dreams alive on Wednesday, while Ireland upset Scotland. 

No room for error

After being shocked by Scotland in their opening match on Monday, the West Indies had no margin for error if they wanted to stay in the hunt for a place in the Super 12 stage. And they accomplished the feat at Bellerive Oval here with 10 balls to spare, dismissing Zimbabwe for 122 after setting them 154 to win. The dangerous Joseph was instrumental, taking 4-16 while Jason Holder chipped in with 3-12 to rescue them after another batting collapse after they won the toss and chose to bat.

“We are learning together and that’s what’s important,” said West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran. “Jason [Holder] put his hand up as our most experienced bowler here, so it’s nice to see him performing the way he is. Alzarri Joseph, it’s not just now, but since the beginning of the year he’s been our best bowler in T20 cricket.” 

Windies captain Nicholas Pooran

The victory means they meet Ireland on Friday with the winner going through to the next round when the big guns join the tournament, while Zimbabwe face Scotland in a winner-takes-all tie. Meanwhile, Ireland stayed in contention with a stunning six-wicket upset of the Scots with George Dockrell and Curtis Campher starring in a 119-run partnership after they looked out for the count. West Indies were aggressive early on and paid the price with Kyle Mayers (13) top edging Blessing Muzarabani to wicketkeeper Regis Chakabva, who was deputising as skipper.

Johnson Charles unleashed in the ninth over, hitting 6, 4, 4 off Ryan Burl to get the scoreboard moving before Evin Lewis (15) was out and Pooran (7) fell soon after. When Charles was comically run out for 45 in a mix-up with Rovman Powell, they were reeling. Zimbabwe kept the pressure on and Sikander Raza trapped Shamarah Brooks lbw then caught and bowled Holder with WI losing four wickets for 11 runs in 12 balls to leave them on 101-6. Powell (28) and Akeal Hosein (23 not out) threw the bat in a late flourish to ensure they set a competitive target.

Also read :Sikandar Raza leads Zimbabwe to massive win over Ireland

Zimbabwe’s good start

In reply, Zimbabwe slammed 18 in a nightmare first over from Mayers. Undeterred, the Caribbean side made a breakthrough in the third over when Regis Chakabva dragged the ball onto his stumps off Joseph. Joseph took his second with a lightning delivery to remove Tony Munyonga and Sean Williams fell two balls later. All-rounder Raza was out for 14 and when Joseph came back into the attack he shattered the stumps of Richard Ngarava and Luke Jongwe to end any hope they had.

Earlier, Scotland powered to 176-5 in what  seemed like a winning total. When they reduced the Irish to 65-4 after 10 overs it looked all over, but Campher (69 off 32 balls) and Dockrell (39 off 27) unleashed some fireworks to steer them home against the  odds with an over to spare.

Sick Ervine pulled out

Zimbabwe skipper Craig Ervine missed the match v WI due to a mild asthma attack. “Ervine is asthmatic. He presented moderate symptoms so we recommended that he be rested in order to give him a chance of playing in the next match,” said team doctor Solomon Madzogo. 

Brief scores
>> West Indies 153-7 in 20 overs (J Charles 45; S Raza 3-19)  beat Zimbabwe 122 all out in 18.2 overs (L Jongwe 29; A Joseph 4-16, J Holder 3-12) by 31 runs. 
>> Scotland 176-5 in 20 overs (M Jones 86; R Berrington 37; C Campher 2-9) lost to Ireland 180-4 in 19 overs (C Campher 72 not out, G Dockrell 39 not out) by six wickets.

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