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Well, well, well. Zimbabwe set out for the West Indies with their "mission statement", agreed between the squad members, being that they were aiming to win the ODI series. Until a little earlier this evening, I don't think anyone would have taken them too seriously. Even at the half-way point of the match, when Sky Sports were describing Zimbabwe's batting performance as "incompetent", things were looking grim for the boys in red (now once again sporting the Zimbabwe Bird on their uniforms). This was a match with a record number of ducks in a Twenty20 International (8), and with both the Windies and Zimbabwe posting their lowest scores in this format. And yet, it turned out to be gripping.

Zimbabwe won the toss and opted to bat, hoping to get the best out of the pitch. It was a decision which made sense, but which captain Prosper Utseya was soon rueing as Zimbabwe's top order collapsed in dramatic style to leave the side apparently dead and buried on 0/3 after three overs, with Sulieman Benn (4/6) doing the early damage. On a wicket on which Utseya later said he was targeting a total of around 140, and on which the TV commentary considered 120 to be par, Zimbabwe looked in real danger of not even reaching 50. Hamilton Masakadza became the rock around which an innings was finally built, though, adding 44 off 67 balls before finally holing out with the score on 74/6. That in turn brought Elton Chigumbura to the crease for a cameo performance than, in hindsight, would prove to be the turning point for the match: living up to his nickname, "Boom Boom" posted 34 from 27 balls, taking Zimbabwe past the 100 mark and finally taking some of the wind out of the West Indies' sails. The side were bowled out for 105 with one ball remaining - some way short of the ideal total, but still within the range that the side could defend.

And defend it they did. Led by the spin attack of a truly fired-up Ray Price (1/18), Prosper Utseya (1/12) and on-form Graeme Cremer (3/11), Zimbabwe were able to keep the brakes firmly on the West Indies batsmen, building pressure on them and eventually forcing the errors that would hand Zimbabwe the match. While Shivnarine Chanderpaul (20) tried to hold things together, the more impetuous players around him were leading a calypso collapse to match Zimbabwe's own, and with only three 4s and one 6 in the innings, the home side were never close to matching the required scoring rate - in the end, it wasn't even close, as the West Indies completed their 20 overs on a meagre 79, 26 short of their target.

Of course, that doesn't mean that everything in the garden is rosy. This was a much-needed win, signalling to the rest of the cricketing world that hey, WE'RE BACK, but the traditional Zimbabwe Collapse™ was still very much in evidence and something that would well lose us matches in the rest of the series. But let the message be clear: don't ignore us, and don't underestimate us. Full scorecard below the cut.
Zimbabwe 105 (19.5 overs; H Masakadza 44, Sammy 5/26), West Indies 79/7 (20 overs; Ramdin 23*, Cremer 3/11). Zimbabwe win by 26 runs.

Zimbabwe innings (20 overs maximum)	
						R	M	B	4s	6s	SR
V Sibanda	b Benn				0	1	1	0	0	0.00
H Masakadza	c †Ramdin b Sammy		44	67	57	3	1	77.19
T Taibu†	lbw b Benn			0	6	7	0	0	0.00
S Matsikenyeri	c †Ramdin b Benn		0	1	2	0	0	0.00
BRM Taylor	b Benn				0	7	3	0	0	0.00
GA Lamb	 	b Sammy				11	32	28	0	0	39.28
E Chigumbura	c Barath b Sammy		34	27	19	2	2	178.94
AG Cremer	b Rampaul			2	8	3	0	0	66.66
SW Masakadza	c Pollard b Sammy		0	4	2	0	0	0.00
P Utseya*	b Sammy				0	3	1	0	0	0.00
RW Price	not out				0	1	0	0	0	-
	Extras	(lb 6, w 4, nb 4)		14					
	Total	(all out; 19.5 overs; 82 mins)	105	(5.29 runs per over)

Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Sibanda, 0.1 ov), 2-0 (Taibu, 2.2 ov), 3-0 (Matsikenyeri, 2.4 ov), 
4-11 (Taylor, 4.3 ov), 5-51 (Lamb, 13.6 ov), 6-74 (H Masakadza, 17.4 ov), 7-98 (Cremer, 18.6 ov), 
8-104 (Chigumbura, 19.2 ov), 9-104 (SW Masakadza, 19.4 ov), 10-105 (Utseya, 19.5 ov)

Bowling		O	M	R	W	Econ		
SJ Benn		4	2	6	4	1.50		
KAJ Roach	4	1	15	0	3.75	(1nb)	
R Rampaul	4	0	28	1	7.00	(3nb)	
KA Pollard	4	0	24	0	6.00	(3w)	
DJG Sammy	3.5	0	26	5	6.78	(1w)	


West Indies innings (target: 106 runs from 20 overs)	
						R	M	B	4s	6s	SR
AB Barath	b Price				8	21	19	1	0	42.10
S Chanderpaul	lbw b Lamb			20	48	30	1	0	66.66
ADS Fletcher	c SW Masakadza b Utseya		0	5	2	0	0	0.00
KA Pollard	b Cremer			1	8	4	0	0	25.00
DM Bravo	lbw b Cremer			0	1	1	0	0	0.00
D Ramdin*†	not out				23	44	36	1	0	63.88
DR Smith	c Utseya b Lamb			12	14	15	0	1	80.00
DJG Sammy	b Cremer			2	5	4	0	0	50.00
R Rampaul	not out				3	13	9	0	0	33.33
	Extras	(w 10)				10					
	Total	(7 wickets; 20 overs; 82 mins)	79	(3.95 runs per over)

Did not bat: SJ Benn, KAJ Roach

Fall of wickets: 1-21 (Barath, 5.6 ov), 2-24 (Fletcher, 6.6 ov), 3-32 (Pollard, 8.2 ov), 
4-32 (Bravo, 8.3 ov), 5-39 (Chanderpaul, 11.1 ov), 6-57 (Smith, 15.2 ov), 7-65 (Sammy, 16.6 ov)

Bowling		O	M	R	W	Econ		
P Utseya	4	0	12	1	3.00	(2w)	
RW Price	4	1	18	1	4.50	(1w)	
AG Cremer	4	0	11	3	2.75	(1w)	
GA Lamb		4	0	14	2	3.50	(2w)	
S Matsikenyeri	1	0	10	0	10.00		
BRM Taylor	1	0	1	0	1.00		
E Chigumbura	1	0	7	0	7.00		
SW Masakadza	1	0	6	0	6.00	(1w)