Karishma Ramharack’s 3 for 17, along with two wickets apiece for Afy Fletcher and Jahzara Claxton, held Zimbabwe to 97/9 and helped West Indies Women win the first T20I in Harare by eight wickets and go 1-0 up in the series. Claxton (31* off 37) and Realeanna Grimmond (34 off 25) then took the visitors home with 43 balls to spare.
Sent in to bat, Zimbabwe never found momentum. Chinelle Henry removed Sharne Mayers for a five-ball duck in the third over, and the hosts managed only 27 in the Powerplay. Modester Mupachikwa held up one end for 33 balls, but her 20 came with little acceleration. Ramharack trapped Kelis Ndhlovu lbw with the first ball of her second over and had Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano caught two overs later. Fletcher then bowled Mupachikwa to leave Zimbabwe 41 for 4 in the 11th over.
Put in to bat, Zimbabwe struggled to build partnerships. They were 27 for 1 after the Powerplay, and lost three wickets for 12 runs between the eighth and 11th overs to slip to 41 for 4. Modester Mupachikwa (20 off 33) anchored the top order but couldn’t push the scoring along. Beloved Biza, who top-scored with 21, added 24 with captain Josephine Nkomo for the fifth wicket, the highest stand of the innings, but the lower order fell away against the spinners. Ramharack was backed by Afy Fletcher (2 for 18) and Claxton (2 for 10), while Chinelle Henry gave away only 12 runs in her four overs.
West Indies made light work of the chase. Eboni Brathwaite set the tone with 23 off 14 in an opening stand of 38, and the visitors reached 48 for 1 in the Powerplay. Grimmond and Claxton then added 59 for the second wicket to all but seal the result. Grimmond fell with one run needed, and Stafanie Taylor finished it off the next ball.
Brief Scores: Zimbabwe Women 97/9 in 20 overs (Biza 21, Mupachikwa 20; Ramharack 3-17, Fletcher 2-18, Claxton 2-10) lost to West Indies Women 98/2 in 12.5 overs (Grimmond 34, Claxton 31*, Brathwaite 23; Chare 1-22, Biza 1-10) by 8 wickets.