HARARE, Zimbabwe, (CMC) – Bhaskar Yadram extended his fine of form with another half-century as West Indies Under-19s made a winning start to their three-match Youth One-Day International series against Zimbabwe Under-19s with a 39-run victory here Sunday.
The 17-year-old right-hander top-scored with a fine Man-of-the-Match 68 as the Caribbean side mustered 211 for eight off their 50 overs, after being sent in.
Captain Emmanuel Stewart chipped in with 34, Joshua Bishop got 32 while Alick Athanaze struck 31 not out.
Left-arm spinner Tinotenda Jakachira claimed three for 27 off eight overs while Frank Mwaita ended with two for 37.
In reply, Zimbabwe were held to 172 off 44.1 overs with left-arm spinner Jeavor Royal picking up three for 20 and fast bowler Darren Nedd, two for 25.
Skipper Liam Roche top-scored with 54, Ryan Murray got 40 and Jayden Schadendorf, 26, but Zimbabwe never recovered from a position of 10 for three in the fourth over.
Earlier, the Young Windies stumbled early on, losing both openers Keagan Simmons (12) and Joshua Persaud (15) cheaply to slip to 31 for two in the 12th over.
Two partnerships then boosted the Windies innings. Yadram, who faced 85 deliveries and struck six fours and two sixes, put on 83 for the third wicket with Stewart who counted three fours in a 53-ball knock.
Both were casualties when four wickets tumbled for 42 runs but Bishop and Athanaze put on a lively run-a-ball 48 for the seventh wicket to rally the innings.
Bishop struck three fours and a six in a breezy 29-ball knock while Athanaze consumed 47 deliveries and notched a single four.
Left-arm pacer Javier Spencer then gave the Windies a bright start by removing Gregory Dollar without scoring off the fourth ball of the innings with a single run on the board.
Three balls later in the next over, Nedd knocked over Marshall Takodza for one with one run added to the total and then accounted for Milton Shumba for eight in his next over, to leave Zimbabwe in tatters.
Murray, who counter-attacked with nine fours in a 41-ball innings, posted 56 for the fourth wicket with Dion Myers who made 16, as the hosts fought back.
When both perished in successive deliveries in the 15th over, Roche anchored two stands – 39 for the sixth wicket with Schadendorf and 32 for the seventh wicket with Wesley Madhevere (11) – in a bid to revive the innings.
Roche faced 86 balls and struck four boundaries to lead the revival but Royal sliced through the lower order to trigger a collapse as the last four wickets fell for 35 runs.