48.1 overs Zimbabwe 175-6 (A Flower 47*, S Carlisle 47) beat West Indies 173 (D Ganga 59) by 4 wickets
Scorecard

It was a struggle, but they finally made it. Zimbabwe beat West Indies by four wickets at the Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo, to claim their first major cricketing scalp for ten months and 22 matches. The manner of their victory barely laid the ghost of yesterday's record-breaking debacle, on the very same strip of turf, but these are lean times, and the Zimbabweans will take any succour going.

Andy Flower, inevitably, and Heath Streak, unsurprisingly, were the men who steered Zimbabwe past West Indies' unimposing total of 173. They added 30 for the seventh wicket after a jittery middle-order had threatened to capitulate once again, and Streak sealed the match with a booming cover-drive off Pedro Collins.

Zimbabwe's innings had begun in a familiarly depressing fashion, when Dion Ebrahim fell first ball for the second match running. On Saturday Chaminda Vaas had pinned him lbw with a nipbacker, and 24 hours later it was Pedro Collins' turn. But on this occasion Zimbabwe did not fold. Grant Flower rode his luck - chances flew close to Hooper in the slips and Collins at mid-off, while Daren Ganga dropped the simplest of top-edged pulls when he had made 25 – but Stuart Carlisle dropped anchor against the new ball.

Grant Flower eventually went for 30, caught by Hooper off Collymore, but Carlisle and Andy Flower combined to break the back of the run-chase. By the time Carlisle was out for 47, the score was 96 for 3 in the 27th over. Wishart, Marillier and Taibu all fell cheaply, but Flower, never likely to fail twice in a row after Saturday's second-ball duck, found a stalwart in Streak, and carried Zimbabwe home with a vigilant 47 not out, containing just two fours.

Stuart Carlisle was named man of the match for his sheetanchor role, but he made an equally valuable contribution at the toss. By winning and electing to field first, he saved his batsmen a potentially traumatic reunion with the SSC wicket. Instead it was West Indies' Chris Gayle who was sent out to face his demons. He had faced four balls from Vaas in the third Test in Colombo, and got out to two of them. On this occasion he survived for five, before galloping for a suicidal single to Dion Ebrahim at point, whose direct hit did the rest.

The writing was on the wall for the West Indies when Brian Lara played across an inswinger from Heath Streak and was lbw for 2. (9 for 2) After busting a gut throughout the Test series, Lara could be forgiven for thinking a failure here would be of little reaching consequence. Ramnaresh Sarwan briefly rose to the challenge, counterattacking gamely against Streak, but after adding 57 in 13 overs with Daren Ganga, he over-improvised to a straight delivery from Olonga and was bowled for 36. (66 for 3)

Ganga and Marlon Samuels milked the spinners profitably in a 60-run partnership for the fifth wicket, but that was as good as it got. Carl Hooper was run out before he could get going, and the tail subsided meekly, as is their wont, with only Ridley Jacobs (20) contributing an innings of note. Ganga himself made 59 before drilling a return catch to Grant Flower.

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