Raza, Moor battle on

FOR the second day in a row, Sikandar Raza stole the limelight, this time with his bat, scoring a patient unbeaten half century to ensure Zimbabwe pushed the second cricket Test against West Indies into the final day at Queens Sports Club yesterday.

Raza scored 58 off 137 deliveries, sharing a 94-run unbroken fifth wicket stand with the impressive Peter Moor who was 39 not out for Zimbabwe’s second innings of 140 for four in 67 overs.

The home team have an 18-run lead with six second wicket innings in hand.

West Indies, guided by centuries by skipper Jason Holder and Shane Dowrich, scored 448 in 178.2 overs to obtain a first innings lead of 122 runs.

Holder struck his second century in Tests when he top scored with 110, his highest score in the longer version of the game, after being given a life by the umpire when he was on 11.

Wicket-keeper Dowrich scored 103, his maiden hundred in a record breaking 212 eighth wicket partnership.

The last time number eight and nine scored centuries in the same innings in a Test was in 1908.

Zimbabwe coach Heath Streak felt that with a minimum of 92 overs still left in the game, it is still a long way to go before they can set a target for the Windies.

‘’It’s still a long way to go, 92 overs in the game, it’s slow going out there, it’s not an easy wicket to score quickly on, we got to get through a session and get ourselves into a position where we can maybe consider giving them a target.

‘’It’s very tough, especially with the deficit that we have had to make up and the wicket is scoring so slowly,’’ said Streak.

With Zimbabwe having gone into the match with one recognised front line seamer, Christopher Mpofu, the bowling attack will be further diminished in the West Indies second innings with Streak confirming that Solomon Mire, whom he described as a reluctant bowler, was struggling with a niggle.

Poor fielding by Zimbabwe saw Holder dropped on 78 in the sixth over of the day, Graeme Cremer forcing his opposite number into an edge only for wicketkeeper Regis Chakabva to put down the catch. The West Indies captain got to his second Test hundred with a boundary off left arm spinner Tendai Chisoro, after facing 187 balls with nine fours and one six.

Dowrich also reached triple figures getting there in there, smashing Cremer for a six to get to his maiden Test hundred in 225 balls having put away 10 fours and one six.

SCORES

Zimbabwe 326 (Masakadza 147, Raza 80, Moor 52, Roach 3/44) and 140-4 61 overs (Raza, Moor, Roach 2/14) lead West Indies 448 (Holder 110, Dowrich 103, Powell 90, Raza 5/99, Chisoro 3/113) by 18 runs