Sarwan century brings series victory

The West Indies claimed an unassailable 2-0 lead in their three-match one-day series against Zimbabwe thanks to a seven-wicket victory in Grenada.

The West Indies claimed an unassailable 2-0 lead in their three-match one-day series against Zimbabwe thanks to a seven-wicket victory in Grenada.

The host's win was built on the back of an unbeaten hundred from Ramnaresh Sarwan after Zimbabwe had put up a much-improved effort with the bat.

Brendan Taylor's men notched up a respectable total of 273 for eight after winning the toss and deciding to have a bat first up.

Three of the top order batsman – Vusi Sibanda (51), Hamilton Masakadza (60) and Craig Irvine (80) – passed the 50 mark as they possessed the stability that had lacked in the first one-dayer. A late blast from Malcolm Waller (26 off 16) helped give the innings late momentum as the Windies bowlers strayed, giving the visitors a chance of victory.

However, the Zimbabwean bowlers were unable to make serious inroads as Kieran Powell and Sarwan began the Windies chase in steady fashion.

Masakadza picked up the wickets of Powell (57) and Darren Bravo (0) in the same over to stymie the home side's innings. But at 111 for two with nearly half of their allotted overs remaining, the West Indies simply needed a calm head to steer them home and Sarwan provided just that.

Together with first Narsingh Deonarine (42) and then the brutal Kieron Pollard (unbeaten 41 off 20), who was brought in after missing out on the first match, Sarwan eased his side to victory with a well constructed 120 not out.

The two teams now head to St George's on Tuesday for the final one-dayer of the series.

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