Player of the Match
Player of the Match

11.45am So Zimbabwe have wrapped up West Indies' innings early on day three, with Nyauchi taking both the wickets. West Indies, who added just two runs to their overnight total, have taken a mammoth 177-run first-innings lead. Will it be enough for them to register an innings win or will Zimbabwe put up a better show with the bat in their second essay? We will find out soon!

92.3
W
Nyauchi to Motie, OUT, Nyauchi has his fifth! Banged in short outside leg, Motie pulled it but picks out the deep midwicket fielder, who takes a good low catch. A first Test five-wicket haul for Nyauchi, who has toiled away. West Indies are bowled out for 292

G Motie c Mavuta b Nyauchi 12 (28m 23b 2x4 0x6) SR: 52.17

92.2
0
Nyauchi to Motie, no run, Full on leg, angling in. He skips out and drills it to long-on. They opt against the single
92.1
0
Nyauchi to Motie, no run, Full on leg, going across, steered to backward point

Nyauchi to continue. Can he get a 5-fer?

END OF OVER:
92 | 2 Runs | WI: 292/9

  • Shannon Gabriel0 (3b)
  • Gudakesh Motie12 (20b)
  • Tanaka Chivanga14-0-59-0
  • Victor Nyauchi17-1-56-4
91.6
0
Chivanga to Gabriel, no run, Full on leg, he misses a flick and Tsiga does well to collect
91.5
0
Chivanga to Gabriel, no run, Bangs it in short on middle, it was going down leg and Gabriel ducks anyway

Over the wicket to Gabriel

91.4
1
Chivanga to Motie, 1 run, Goes full and wide this time, he gets some bat on it to guide it through short third for a single
91.3
0
Chivanga to Motie, no run, Another back of length delivery outside off, Motie looks to cut again, like he did in the previous delivery, and misses this time
91.3
1nb
Chivanga to Motie, 1 no ball, Motie goes after another short delivery outside off and he nicks off! Chivanga has his first Test wicket! Oh no! Chivanga's back leg was going across the return crease and it's a no-ball! Chivanga will have to wait

Around the wicket

91.2
0
Chivanga to Motie, no run, Another short ball, this time Motie looks to pull and misses

Walt: "Worth the delay! Action straight away."

91.1
0
Chivanga to Motie, no run, Bangs it in short on middle and leg, it goes across him as Motie looks to uppercut it

Tanaka Chivanga from the other end

END OF OVER:
91 | 2 Runs 1 Wkt | WI: 290/9

  • Shannon Gabriel0 (1b)
  • Gudakesh Motie11 (15b)
  • Victor Nyauchi17-1-56-4
  • Tanaka Chivanga13-0-57-0

Nyauchi has his first four-wicket haul in Test cricket!

90.6
0
Nyauchi to Gabriel, no run, On a length outside off, jags in and beats Gabriel's defence. Nyauchi appeals, but the umpire is not interested

Shannon Gabriel is the last batter for West Indies

90.5
W
Nyauchi to Holder, OUT, Nyauchi strikes with the first ball of the day! Or has he overstepped? No, his had landed his foot just behind the crease. Bowls it on a length outside off, Holder went chasing after it with an expansive drive and gets a thick edge and Tsiga gobbles it up

JO Holder c †Tsiga b Nyauchi 3 (35m 14b 0x4 0x6) SR: 21.42

11.30am We are set to begin! The Zimbabwe players are walking out. Motie and Holder also out there. Nyauchi will complete his over.

Blake: ""75 over scheduled for today". Yeah and I was a better bat than Bradman and could bowl faster then Donald." I hope the weather gods don't share your cynicism!

11.25am Thanks Himanshu. Finally, some cricket!

Time to welcome Abhimanyu back.

11.06am Finally we have a news regarding the cricket: play is set to start at 11.30am. Lunch at 1pm, with 75 overs scheduled for today.

Batsie: "I live next door to Queens Sports Club. It rained all night, only stopped after 6am. It would be incredible if any play happened before lunch. More rain should arrive around 3-4pm. It's been an abnormally wet summer. Doesn't usually rain this much in these parts. It must be the cricket, lol" --- Or maybe the Gods want it dragged all the way, like in the first Test

Larry: "@David Evans there's a cracking run chase taking shape in the Nepal-Namibia game" --- Hmmm, the required run rate is nearing six an over, though Nepal have eight wickets remaining in their chase of 286...

10.40am In another drab update, the next inspection is at 11am. Will we ever have cricket again? David Evans: "Mark - what will you do with the free time now that there is no need to watch the cricket?" --- Maybe quickly look through whatever else is happening around the world?

Thanks Abhimanyu. Watching the weather is what we've been doing since last evening. I feel like it's been days since we have had any cricket.

10.30am The umpires are out in the middle. They are having a look at the wet patches. Himanshu's turn now to watch the weather!

10.25am We are five minutes from the scheduled inspection. The West Indies players have been warming up in one corner.

Mark: "Unless there is more rain, my money would be on the game ending today, even with a slightly delayed start. The West Indies just have too much for Zimbabwe." It's Test cricket and I am a firm believer in 'never say never'.

9.48am There is an inspection scheduled at 10.30am. So that's about 40 minutes from now. Fingers crossed that we get some good news.

9.35am Some West Indies players are out in the middle having a laugh. Craig Ervine has a look at the pitch. Dave Houghton is having a chat with Jason Holder. We still look a while before we get any action today. Also, there is forecast for rains around 11am, so that can further delay proceedings.

9.30am The pitch and the run-ups are fine, but there are some wet areas in the outfield that need drying. The super-sopper is in action. We will have to wait for a bit to get an update on when the play will start. The umpires are also out on the ground, inspecting the wet patches.

"Morning all, have WI declared yet?" Not yet, Irfan. And I don't think they will be in a hurry to do so yet. There's a long time to go still in this match.

9.25am Thanks Himanshu. It looks like we won't get the early start as planned. Hopefully they can dry out the ground soon. "How's the weather like?" asks Rohit. Well, it's not raining, but it's cloudy still, so the pitch may take a little time to dry.

And here comes Abhimanyu to keep a watch on proceedings.

9.17am And we start the day with some grim news: the outfield looks wet, with the super sopper in operation. It looks dark and gloomy at the moment, as we are made to wait.

Christian: "I'm telling you, man, I'll put retractable domes on all the world's cricket ovals to do away with time lost to rain and bad light. I'll do it as soon as I make my second billion" --- Hurrah, may that happen soon...

9.10am The ever-occupied Steven Lynch has dug up a stat which would interest West Indies fans: how many father-son pairs have scored double-hundreds in Tests? - sounds pretty recent? - among others. It first happened with Pakistan's Mohammads - Hanif and Shoaib - and has taken place only once since.

9am In a quick recap of the second day's play, it was Roston Chase's 70 - and a patient 44 by Joshua Da Silva - that put Zimbabwe under pressure. Victor Nyauchi and Brandon Mavuta took three wickets each for the hosts, who might have to work even harder to stay alive in this match.

8.50am Welcome to day three. Just 49.4 overs were possible yesterday, before heavy rain cut the day short; and so in order to make up, play will begin 40 minutes earlier than usual this morning. West Indies are 175 ahead with two wickets - including that of Jason Holder - standing, but with more rain forecast for today and the coming days, they will be wary of keeping some time in hand to push for a series win.


5:15pm: A frustrating day in Bulawayo, where the rain Gods firmly had the last word. In 49.4 overs bowled today, West Indies scored 157 runs for the loss of four wickets. They now lead by 175. Himanshu's report will be up soon, so look out for that one, and join us tomorrow morning, with play set to begin at 9:20am. Until then, this is Aaditya signing off.

5:10pm: The covers are still firmly in place, the rain looks to have stopped for the moment, but that is not going to be enough for play to resume this evening. If I heard the stadium announcement right, that is Stumps on Day 2.

5pm: Looks gloomy, still raining. I would be shocked if we have any more play tonight.

4:50pm: Thanks, Himanshu. More rain watching on my agenda.

4.45pm The rain is pouring down again, and play is stopped. The covers make their way out on the park rather quickly. It looks heavy at the moment, as it could be another long delay. So here comes Aaditya again to keep you entertained.

90.4
0
Nyauchi to Holder, no run, flicks this length ball on off to midwicket

Zimbabwe 3rd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st13I KaiaT Makoni
2nd2CJ ChibhabhaI Kaia
3rd41CR ErvineI Kaia
4th30CR ErvineM Shumba
5th16CR ErvineTE Tsiga
6th1CR ErvineDT Tiripano
7th29CR ErvineWP Masakadza
8th34CR ErvineB Mavuta
9th4CR ErvineVM Nyauchi
10th3VM NyauchiTL Chivanga