In the 2023 ODI World Cup Qualifier, Zimbabwe defeated the two-time champions West Indies by 35 runs at the Harare Sports Club on June 24, Saturday, in front of their adoring home fans. For the 13th match of the competition, the hosts took on the Caribbean giants in the Group A clash, to earn the right to lead the standings with the final round of games to go.
On a cool morning in the heart of Harare, the captain of West Indies, Shai Hope won the toss and put Zimbabwe into bat first. In the first powerplay, the bowlers managed to restrict the rate of scoring for the hosts, but without any success. Then, West Indies dismissed four top-order batters in quick succession to restrict them to 112/4 before Sikandar Raza and Ryan Burl played a great hand to help Zimbabwe reach 268 total.
During the run chase, West Indies got off to a flyer as Brandon King and Kyle Mayers struck 43 runs in 6.3 overs in the powerplay. After losing a couple of quick wickets, the middle order, including the likes of captain Shai Hope, Nicholas Pooran, and Roston Chase, did get starts for the Caribbean side without converting them into substantial scores.
At the very end, Zimbabwe was able to bowl out the former ODI World Cup champions for 233 to attain a famous win at home. Some of the best Twitter reactions after the epic qualifier are as under: