• The first Test between Zimbabwe and West Indies ended in a draw.

  • Gary Ballance played a brilliant 137-run knock in his debut game for Zimbabwe.

Twitter reactions: Gary Ballance’s record century helps Zimbabwe draw the first Test against West Indies
Gary Ballance celebrating his ton (Image Source: Twitter)

The first Test match of the two-match series between Zimbabwe and West Indies ended in a draw. The game in Bulawayo saw a massive run-fest as both teams put up a great show with the bat and survived until the last day of the opening Test.

After opting to bat, West Indies declared their first innings on a massive score of 447/6, thanks to Tagenarine Chanderpaul’s blazing double century. Windies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite also played a blistering 182-run knock. Meanwhile, Brandon Mavuta took a five-wicket haul for Zimbabwe in the first essay.

In reply, Zimbabwe called off their innings ar a score of 379/9. Gary Ballance slammed a brilliant century for his side and contributed 137 runs to the team’s total. Innocent Kaia also hit a resilient half-century for the hosts.

With a ton on his debut in the longest format, Ballance became only the second player in the history of the game to have scored Test centuries for two different nations. Notably, the 33-year-old had represented England at the international level before signing a contract with Zimbabwe. Apart from Ballance, Kepler Wessels is the only other batter on the unique list. Wessels represented Australia and South Africa in Test cricket.

On the other hand, Alzarri Joseph picked three wickets for West Indies, while Jason Holder and Gudakesh Motie scalped two wickets each.

With the help of Raymon Reifer and Jermaine Blackwood’s fifties, the tourists declared their second innings on 230/5. In response, Zimbabwe batted resiliently and secured a draw.

The Caribbeans tried their best to bowl out the hosts as Jason Holder even switched to off-break bowling but unfortunately couldn’t guide his team to victory.

For his exceptional double ton, Chanderpaul was awarded the ‘Player of the Match.’

Here’s how Twitter reacted:

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VISHWANATH HARIHARAN
Vishwanath Hariharan is Content Strategist at CricketTimes.com. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. From breaking news stories to in-depth features and opinion pieces, he has covered a wide range of topics. Vishwanath is very fond of watching cricket. Like many others, he too grew up watching, playing, and imitating his favourite players of the game. MS Dhoni is like a demigod to him. You can connect with him at vishwanath.hariharan@crickettimes.com and follow him on Twitter & Linkedin.