Bishoo bowls WI to 117-run win

Legspinner Devendra Bishoo finished with nine wickets in the match as the West Indies swept to a 117-run victory over Zimbabwe in the first Test on Tuesday.

Bishoo followed up his 5 for 79 in the first innings with figures of 4 for 105 in the second as Zimbabwe were bowled out for 316 on the fourth day at Queens Sports Club.

Although Hamilton Masakadza and Brendan Taylor struck half-centuries as Zimbabwe put up a better fight with the bat in their second innings, they were derailed by some clever bowling from Bishoo and a couple of calamitous run-outs, ensuring they were always unlikely to pull off a world-record chase of 434.

Bishoo dismissed Craig Ervine and Sean Williams in the lead-up to tea, leaving Zimbabwe on 159 for four at the interval. The highest successful chase at the ground is 184, which India achieved in 2001, but Zimbabwe did score 331 in the fourth innings in a losing cause against New Zealand six years ago.

No team in history has chased more than 418 in the fourth innings to win a Test match.

Zimbabwe made a bold start to their innings, with Hamilton Masakadza and Solomon Mire putting on 99 for the first wicket at a brisk rate.

But both batsmen departed in quick succession after lunch, with Masakadza caught at short leg for 57 - his first half-century in almost three years - and Mire (47) undone by some sharp reverse swing from fast bowler Kemar Roach.

Brendan Taylor and Ervine were able to absorb the pressure of a strong West Indian pace attack with a swinging ball in a steady partnership over the next hour, before Bishoo struck two critical blows.

First Ervine was trapped lbw for 18 by a delivery that kept a touch low, then Williams was stumped by wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich.

Taylor reached tea unscathed on 25, while Sikandar Raza was unbeaten on two.

Earlier, Zimbabwe had required just 21 deliveries to polish off the West Indian second innings at the start of day four, with the tourists adding just four runs to their overnight score of 369 for eight.

Legspinner Graeme Cremer picked up his eighth wicket in the match when he bowled Roach with the first ball of the day, before Williams denied Roston Chase a century when he bowled him for 95.

The second and final Test gets underway at the same venue on Sunday.

SCORES IN BRIEF

WEST INDIES: First innings 219

ZIMBABWE: First innings 159

WEST INDIES: Second innings 373 (Brathwaite 86, K Hope 43, S Hope 44, Chase 95, Bishoo 44; Jarvis 2-66, Williams 3-91, Cremer 4-114)

ZIMBABWE: Second innings 316 (Masakadza 57, Mire 47, Taylor 73, Raza 30, Jarvis 23 not out, Mpofu 33; Bishoo 4-105, Chase 2-61)

Result: West Indies won by 117 runs and lead two-match series 1-0.

Player-of-the-match: Devendra Bishoo.