ST JOHN’S (Antigua), May 1: West Indies heeded captain Brian Lara's demand for improvement and completed a tidy 98-run victory over Zimbabwe in the second One-day International on Sunday at the Antigua Recreation Ground (partly reported in Monday’s edition).

Zimbabwe were dismissed for 144 in 46.2 overs chasing a victory target of 243.

Chris Gayle secured the win when he had Tawanda Mupariwa caught at deep backward square leg for 16 to give West Indies a 2-0 lead in the seven-match series, after they won Saturday's opener by five wickets at the same venue.

Lara had called on his team, particularly the new-ball bowlers Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards, to show a drastic improvement on their performance from Saturday and they responded.

Zimbabwe never recovered from the nightmare of losing their first three wickets – all to Taylor – for 11 runs inside the first six overs.

Taylor was the pick of the bowlers with a career-best 4-24 from his allotment of 10 overs to earn the Man-of-the-Match award for the second straight day.

Justice Chibhabha, playing in only his third One-day International, was again the rock upon which Zimbabwe built their total.

The 19-year-old hit the top score of 67 from 100 balls which contained eight boundaries, and added 56 for the fourth wicket with Elton Chigumbura.

West Indies had mounted a late charge to reach 242 for nine from their 50 overs, after purposeful bowling from the Zimbabweans had kept a tight rein on their batsmen.

Taylor made the breakthrough for West Indies in the fourth over, when opening batsman Piet Rinke was caught at point for six flicking at a delivery that flew into the air off the leading edge.

The wickets of captain Terrence Duffin and Brendon Taylor off successive balls in Taylor's next over struck at the very heart of the visitors' batting.

Duffin was bowled for one driving loosely at the fifth ball, and Brendon Taylor completely misjudged the line and length of the last ball and was bowled for a first-ball duck.

Chigumbura joined Chibhabha at the wicket and they mixed aggression with sound defence to defy the bowling.

Chibhabha played some glorious strokes on either side of the wicket and enhanced his reputation with his second straight half-century of the series.

Chigumbura was caught at first slip off Fidel Edwards in the 20th over and the visitors continued to bleed wickets.

Scoreboard

WEST INDIES:

C.H. Gayle c Taylor b Mahwire 49

R.S. Morton c Taylor b Mupariwa 16

R.R. Sarwan c Coventry b Mupariwa 55

D. Ramdin lbw b Utseya 4

S. Chanderpaul c Taylor b Chibhabha 46

B.C. Lara c Mahwire b Mupariwa 5

D.J.J. Bravo b Rainsford 9

D.R. Smith b Chibhabha 30

I.D.R. Bradshaw not out 6

J.E. Taylor b Mahwire 6

F.H. Edwards not out 2

EXTRAS (B-1, W-5, NB-8) 14

TOTAL (for nine wkts, 50 overs) 242

FALL OF WKTS: 1-70, 2-80, 3-85, 4-154, 5-162, 6-183, 7-218, 8-230, 9-238.

BOWLING: Rainsford 10-1-32-1; Mahwire 10-0-58-2 (3nb, 3w); Mupariwa 10-1-46-3 (1nb, 1w); Chibhabha 7-0-39-2 (4nb); Utseya 10-0-51-1 (1w); Strydom 3-0-15-0.

ZIMBABWE:

H.P. Rinke c Bravo b Taylor 6

T. Duffin b Taylor 1

C.J. Chibhabha c Ramdin b Bradshaw 67

B.R.M. Taylor b Taylor 0

E. Chigumbura c Gayle b Edwards 13

G.M. Strydom run out 5

C.K. Coventry c Morton b Bravo 0

N.B. Mahwire c Ramdin b Gayle 6

P. Utseya c Gayle b Taylor 0

T. Mupariwa c Edwards b Gayle 16

E.C. Rainsford not out 9

EXTRAS (B-2, LB-7, W-10, NB-2) 21

TOTAL (all out, 46.2 overs) 144

FALL OF WKTS: 1-7, 2-11, 3-11, 4-67, 5-91, 6-95, 7-114, 8-116, 9-116.

BOWLING: Edwards 8-0-39-1 (2nb, 2w); Taylor 10-3-24-4 (2w); Bradshaw 10-0-27-1 (2w); Bravo 5-1-13-1 (3w); Gayle 9.2-2-21-2; Smith 4-0-11-0 (1w).

UMPIRES: S.A. Bucknor (West Indies) and B.F. Bowden (New Zealand).

TV UMPIRE: B. Doctrove (West Indies).

MATCH REFEREE: B.C. Broad (England).

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Jerome Taylor.

NEXT MATCH: At Georgetown on Saturday.—Agencies