Zimbabwe 326 (Masakadza 147, Raza 80, Moor 52, Roach 3/44) and 301-7 (Raza 89, Chakabva 71*, Gabriel 2/34, Roach 2/37) West Indies 448 (Holder 110, Dowrich 103, Powell 90, Raza 5/99, Chisoro 3/113) Match Draw

ZIMBABWE fought hard to draw the second cricket Test against West Indies at Queens Sports Club on Thursday, with the tourists winning the two-match series. Regis Chakabva struck an unbeaten 71 runs, shared in an unbroken stand of 91 runs for the eighth wicket with skipper Graeme Cremer which saw the two bat for 48.4 overs to ensure Zimbabwe escaped with a draw on the last day. The home team made 371 for seven in 144 overs, with a lead of 179 runs but the players shook hands with an hour to play as it became clear that there would be no winner.

It was the first time since January 2005 that Zimbabwe had played out a Test draw with the last match which failed to produce a result involving the southern African nation being the second Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka 12 years ago. Man of the match Sikandar Raza top scored for the home team with 89 runs, his second half ton of the match. He became only the second man in Test cricket to take score more than 80 runs in both innings and take five wickets after South African Jacques Kallis Cape Town did so in January 1999 against West Indies.

West Indies leg spinner Devendra Bishoo took home the man of the series award for picking up 13 wickets in the two Tests. Zimbabwean captain Graeme Cremer was disappointed with losing the Test series but at the same time glad that they managed to secure a draw in the second where they had fallen behind at some stage.

“It’s a bit disappointing obviously to lose a Test series but we were behind a lot of this Test match so credit to the guys for fighting. We were quite happy with the draw in the end and we didn’t feel like we had enough runs on the board to be able to declare and it’s probably not a wicket where you can bowl a team out in 30 overs,’’ said Cremer.

On whether they did consider declaring, Cremer indicated that that thought was there only for the team to feel that there was not enough time to get 10 wickets in the last session.

“There was thought of declaration but we know it’s quite hard to probably take 10 wickets in 50 overs, let alone 30 so after Raza got out we almost had to shut shop there, just take overs out of the game to make sure we didn’t lose the Test match,’’ Cremer said.

Zimbabwe resumed from their overnight score of 140 for four, with Raza and Peter Moor at the crease. Moor went in the second over of the day, removed by pace bowler Shannon Gabriel, taken at gully by Shai Hope.

Raza survived a leg before wicket shout from Kemar Roach which the West Indies reviewed but was still adjudged not out. Malcolm Waller was dismissed for 15, becoming leg spinner Bishoo’s second wicket, going out to a soft dismissal, getting the ball to Jermaine Blackwood at first slip.

Raza was given out to Roach on 72 but the Zimbabwean batsman went for a review which proved to be successful as television replays showed that the ball was missing leg stump.

Raza was denied his second Test hundred when he was bowled by Holder in the third over after lunch. Cremer gloved a ferocious delivery he faced from Holder to be taken behind by Shane Dowrich but he was fortunate to be given not out. West Indies had no reviews by then so could not seek an overturn of umpire Kumar Dharmasena’s decision.

Cremer also survived two leg before shouts with Dharmasena again not giving him out but in the end that did not matter as there was no winner in the contest.