West Indies attempt to draw level

After losing the first ODI by two runs, West Indies will be looking to bounce back and square the series in the second match at Providence.

West Indies will be disappointed to find themselves trailing in a home series to Zimbabwe. It has been a couple of poor performances from their batsmen, which have let them down in the T20I and then the first ODI. Chris Gayle has come down heavily on some of his middle-order players after the kind of shots they played in the first match. One can easily expect him to go after the Zimbabwean spinners who have so tactfully bound the batsmen. Dwayne Smith, Kieron Pollard and Denesh Ramdin could have easily avoided the rash strokes that they played and will need to get their act together in the second match if the home side is to come away with a win. Adrian Barath showed his ability to adapt. He was well recognized for his showing at the Champions League T20 for Trinidad and Tobago but he did well to get a half century in the first match.

Zimbabwe benefitted by the performance of their top three batsmen. Hamilton Masakadza got them off to a great start at the top of the order and the good work was carried on by Tatenda Taibu and Vusi Sibanda.  Sibanda played a very cautious innings and even though he scored with a low strike rate, the knock proved to be of match winning value. Masakadza and Taibu would be hoping to kick on and get a big score in the next game. Another reason for Zimbabwe’s success has been the consistency shown by their spinners. Prosper Utseya, Ray Price and Graeme Cramer bowled excellent spells which did not allow the hosts to go after the bowling at any stage.