Zimbabwe’s keeper took five catches and made 38, and West Indies lost an ODI to them for the first time
Nyasha Gwanzura took 4 for 33 and was still there at the finish as Zimbabwe’s women levelled the series in Harare before Wednesday’s decider.
Sep 28, 2026
West Indies won the toss in Harare on Sunday, chose to bat, and were bowled out for 139 inside 40 overs. Zimbabwe knocked the runs off with 55 balls to spare, won by four wickets, and levelled the three-match series at 1-1. It was the first time Zimbabwe’s women had beaten West Indies in a one-day international, and only their second ODI win over any Full Member side.
Three days earlier the same West Indies side had won the opening game by 99 runs, with Hayley Matthews making 182. Wednesday’s decider is back at Harare Sports Club, and another defeat there would hand Zimbabwe the series.
Nine for 83
The damage started early. Michelle Mavunga had Realeanna Grimmond caught behind in the second over, and although Hayley Matthews and Stafanie Taylor added 47 for the second wicket, the innings came apart once Nyasha Gwanzura removed Matthews for 26 in the 12th over.
From 56 for 1, West Indies lost nine wickets for 83. Francisca Chipare took two in three balls at the end of the 15th over, getting Shemaine Campbelle and Chinelle Henry, and the middle order never found a way to rebuild. Taylor held on for 47 off 68 balls before Mavunga got her too, and a last-wicket stand of 26 between Ashmini Munisar (20 not out) and Karishma Ramharack only nudged the total up. Olinder Chare finished it by bowling Ramharack.
Gwanzura bowled her full ten overs for 4 for 33, the best return of her ODI career. Mavunga took 3 for 36 and Chipare 2 for 16 from six overs.
Five catches behind the stumps
Modester Mupachikwa had the busiest day of anyone. Zimbabwe’s wicketkeeper took five catches, Grimmond, Matthews, Taylor, Zaida James and Afy Fletcher, and ESPNcricinfo recorded her as only the fourth wicketkeeper or fielder to hold five in an innings in women’s ODIs.
Then she opened the batting. Mupachikwa and Kelis Ndhlovu put on 67 for the first wicket, the pair content to take the chase slowly against a total that never asked them to hurry. Mupachikwa made 38 from 57 balls before Aaliyah Alleyne trapped her lbw.
A wobble, then Nkomo
West Indies briefly found a way back. Three wickets fell for three runs, Alleyne taking two of them, and at 70 for 3 the chase looked less certain. Beloved Biza and captain Josephine Nkomo steadied it with a stand of 30 before Afy Fletcher bowled Biza for 14, and when Chiedza Dhururu went lbw to Fletcher soon after, Zimbabwe were 105 for 5.
Nkomo and Gwanzura took them to within seven. Nkomo fell for 30 with the score on 133, caught behind off Munisar, who finished with 2 for 15 from seven overs, but Gwanzura was still there on 18 not out when the winning runs came. She was named player of the match.
What it means in the table
The series counts towards the ICC Women’s Championship 2026-29, and this was Zimbabwe’s first win of the cycle. The two points leave them ninth of the 11 teams. For West Indies, losing to a side they had never lost to before in the format is a result that will be hard to explain away,.