Twitter Reactions: Zimbabwe hold on to a tie against West Indies

It was an important game with respect to the tri-series. The hosts Zimbabwe desperately needed a win to stay in contention for the series. West Indies only had domination on their agenda. The match eventually turned out to be an absolutely nail-biting contest. Zimbabwe played their hearts out to get close to the victory. They were only a sniff away from the victory.

Albeit they did not win the match, they ensured that they had drawn some points on the points table. They shared points with West Indies after having put on a herculean effort to tie the game. To speak in all fairness, nobody gave them a chance. But the way the hosts turned up for the match, was simply astounding. They opted to bat first after winning the toss.

After losing their openers early in the innings, it was a marathon stand between Craig Ervine and Sikandar Raza that set the stage for the Zimbabweans. They put on 144 for the 3rd wicket and kept the visitors at bay for a long time. It was hard word for the West Indies bowlers to break the partnership.

The moment arrived for the West Indies when Ervine missed out on a well-deserved century. He was dismissed on 92. Raza, too, failed to make a big one. He perished after scoring 77. The Zimbabwe side batted very poorly to succumb from 218/4 to 257/10. The entire lower order collapsed which saw West Indies crawl back in the match.

Only one among the last 7 batsmen got into the double digits. Meanwhile, the social media was in praise for Zimbabwean batsmen for putting up a fight against the Windies. The dramatic run chase began with Kraigg Brathwaite looking good in the anchor role. His 78 at the top order gave the hosts a very little chance to sniff a win. Shai Hope’s magnificent ton only took the hopes away from the Zimbabwe unit.

Once they departed, the hosts got back into the game. West Indies needed just 4 to win off the last over. But an excellent over from Donald Tiripano ensured that only 3 was scored off it. 3 wickets in the over ensured that the Zimbabwean camp jumped in delight as the match ended in a tie.

Here are the best tweets from the match: