BRIDGETOWN – Off-spinner Shane Shillingford bowled the West Indies to a comfortable nine-wicket victory over Zimbabwe with two days to spare when the Caribbean cricketers won the first Test just after the lunch break on the third day at Kensington Oval here today.
Set a mere 12 runs for victory after routing Zimbabwe for a paltry 107 in their second innings with Shillingford logging career-best figures of six for 49 in 16 overs, the West Indies made 12 for one in five overs.
Chris Gayle (four not out) scored the winning runs nine minutes after the compulsory lunch interval to give the West Indies a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.
The lone West Indian wicket to fall was opener Kieran Powell, who was caught in the gully off rookie fast bowler Tendai Chatara for six.
It was the fifth consecutive Test victory for the Darren Sammy-led West Indies side, following 2-0 wins against New Zealand and Bangladesh last year.
Shillingford ended with a match haul of nine for 107 runs while pacer Shannon Gabriel finished with three for 10 in 7.4 overs, snaring the last two wickets in the space of three balls.
The West Indies had taken a handy 96-run lead when they made 307 in response to Zimbabwe’s first innings total of 211. (EZS)
