West Indies rode on Alzarri Joseph's brilliant spell and Johnson Charles' decent knock to bounce back from nightmarish show against Scotland as they earned a facile 31-run victory against Zimbabwe in a crucial Group B match of the first round of the ICC T20 World Cup at Hobart on Wednesday (October 19).
Johnson's 45 off 36 guided Caribbeans to post a decent total of 153/7 and then Alzarri returned with a sensational spell of 4/16 to Irish innings for just 122.
West Indies kept alive their hopes of reaching the Super 12 of the ICC T20 World Cup with this victory.
The seasoned Jason Holder also shone with the ball, taking three wickets for 12 runs in 3.2 overs.
Opener Johnson Charles top-scored for the West Indies with a knock of 45 in 36 balls. Charles came into the line-up in place of Brandon King, who is unwell.
There were useful contributions from Rovman Powell (28) and Akeal Hosein (23 not out). Sikandar Raza was the most successful bowler for Zimbabwe, finishing with figures of 3/19 in four overs.
In their chase, Zimbabwe were off to a flyer but lost their way after scoring 55 runs in the six powerplay overs, losing wickets at regular intervals.
Following the West Indies' victory, Group B has become wide open, with all four teams currently on two points each.
