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Brandon Moyo, Sports Reporter

ZIMBABWE managed to put up a fight with bat and ball on day three as they seek to counter a huge West Indies first innings total.

Tagenarine Chanderpaul playing a shot on his way to 207 runs

After Zimbabwe finally got wickets – the wicket hunt aided by a five-wicket haul from leg spinner Brandon Mavuta – the visitors declared their innings on 447-6 in 143 overs with their opening batters breaking records.
Zimbabwe ended the day on 114-3 in 41. 4 overs having lost the wickets of Tanunurwa Makoni, Chamunorwa Chibhabha and Craig Ervine.

Test debutans Tanunurwa Makoni and Innocent Kaia opened the batting for Zimbabwe

The home side trail by 333 runs with seven wickets in hand.
Windies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite and Tagenarine Chanderpaul put up a 336 runs partnership which has become the highest opening stand in Test cricket for the Caribbean side. Before that, the best opening stand belonged to Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes when they combined for 298 runs against England in 1990.

The skipper went on to fall 18 runs short of a double ton on 182 runs while his partner Chanderpaul remained undefeated on 207 runs. After Chanderpaul got to his double ton, West Indies declared their first innings. His double ton took him to a higher career score than that of his father, Shivnarine Chanderpaul who has a best of 203 runs not out against South Africa in 2005.

In his first match at Queens Sports Club, he also scored 200 runs more than his father who, in his only five day match in Bulawayo, made just seven runs in an encounter the Windies won by an innings and 176 runs in July 2001.
As Zimbabwe struggled to get wickets, Mavuta registered his best bowling figures in the longer format. He finished with figures of 5/140 to get his maiden five wicket haul.

Alzarri Joseph preparing to bowl

His previous best figures were 4/21 on his Test debut against Bangladesh in 2018. Left arm spinner Wellington Masakadza got the other wicket.
Debutant opener Innocent Kaia scored his maiden Test half century in a gallant fight back from the Chevrons. Kaia finished day three on 59 runs not out while his opening partner Makoni had the second best contribution with the bat for Zimbabwe, 33 runs before he was caught off the bowling of Alzarri Joseph.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul

Ervine fell to the last ball of the day, gone for 13 runs while Chibhabha, on his return to the Test side scored nine runs.
Mavuta, playing his first Test since 2018 said coming back to the side and picking up a fifer has been a great feeling.
“It has been great and I think I have been enjoying the process and I have been enjoying everything that I have been doing starting from first class cricket up until now so I am quite happy to be in this position now and trusting the process all the way,” he said.

Brandon Mavuta picked up five wickets for 140 runs in 41 overs

Having continued his domestic form to international cricket, Mavuta said he tries by all means to give his all for the team regardless which one it is. Zimbabwe will look to wipe out the deficit when the match heads into day four this morning. — @brandon_malvin