West Indies vs Zimbabwe, 8th Match, First Round Group B at Hobart, T20 WC, Oct 19 2022 - Match Result

10.24 pm Well, West Indies have done it the hard way, but a win is a win any way you slice it. Today's results mean all four teams in Group B have one win and one loss. So it's winner take all in the matchups for Friday. Ireland v West Indies in one match, Scotland v Zimbabwe in the other. The winners advance to the Super 12. That is, if the matches happen! Rain is in the forecast. If the entire day is wiped out, then it'll be Scotland and Zimbabwe who advance.

Alzarri Joseph is named Player of the Match for his 4 for 16: "It's very encouraging, but we all know the job is not done. We still have one more game to play. We need to get that win to get to the next round. For me it's all about pulling it back for the team. Try to get an early wicket. If not, just keep it tight. It all depends on the batter and keeping a close eye on them at the crease. It's a good wicket for cricket."

Zimbabwe stand-in captain Regis Chakabva: "I thought that our bowlers stuck to their plan and the process that we came in with, just trying to hit our areas especially the spinners. The bowlers did pretty well to pull it back. We would have been happy from 72 to restrict them to 150 as we did. We went in with the confidence that we'd get there. We lost one too many wickets in the first 10 overs. Credit to West Indies and Alzarri Joseph. He opened up the gates for them and bowled brilliantly. I thought the pitch played very well throughout and didn't think conditions changed at all. The boys are still pretty confident. We're disappointed how short we ended up being after such a good start but we'll look to bounce back on Friday."

West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran: "We spoke yesterday and had to be responsible as a batting group. Enough is enough. We have been failing in the middle overs. We tried to be a bit conservative in the middle overs. But in tournaments like these, guys tried to be conservative trying to build partnerships but then got caught and bowleds. At times like this, we need to create our own luck, Akeal and Rovman putting on that partnership at the end. Obviously the energy with the ball after those first two overs, credit to them making our own luck. We spoke about the process and trusting our process with Kyle Mayers bowling the new ball because he's the only one swinging the new ball. It hasn't come off yet but we'll keep supporting him. We're coming together nicely as a bowling group. We're still searching for wickets in the Powerplay. Jason put his hand up as our most experienced bowler here so it's nice to see him performing the way he is. Alzarri Joseph, it's not just now but since the beginning of the year he's been our best bowler in T20 cricket. Bowling 140+, getting wickets for us and bringing that energy, it's an exciting time for West Indies cricket. When we lose games, people are going to bash us. If we fall, we need to pick ourselves back up. We need to create that winning culture and winning atmosphere. I'm working really hard day in and day out. Everything happens for a reason. We came out on the winning side today."

In order, Scotland has the best NRR in the group followed by Zimbabwe, West Indies and Ireland. So if all games Friday are washed out, then Scotland and Zimbabwe advance. If the West Indies v Ireland match is played but the Scotland v Zimbabwe match is washed out, then it'll be the winner of West Indies v Ireland advancing with Scotland. If West Indies v Ireland is washed out and Scotland v Zimbabwe is played, then I'll be West Indies advancing with the winner of Scotland v Zimbabwe. Make sense?!

That's it for today's live coverage. On behalf of co-commentator Matt Roller, I'm Peter Della Penna. Come back tomorrow for what will be a thrilling final day of Group A as Namibia plays UAE and Sri Lanka takes on the Netherlands with both spots advancing from Group A to the Super 12s still yet to be decided. Until then, take care!

Kalyanaraman: "@PDP, do you think there is a case for holding both the last round games simultaneously?" Yes, I have always felt it is seriously wrong for cricket tournaments to not be playing last day group matches simultaneously because the teams playing second in a staggered schedule have a humongous advantage knowing what is needed for NRR. But it is logistically impossible to do with the two groups being staged in different cities.

ESPNcricinfo stats man Sampath Bandarupalli confirms that Zimbabwe (and Scotland) will stay ahead of West Indies on NRR, having passed 116. If Friday's games are both washed out, Zimbabwe and Scotland will progress to the Super 12s.

Brian: "Don't know if anyone has pointed this out, apologies if they haveIf WI can keep ZIM to 129 or less, their NRR goes ahead of IRE, so they would be ahead of IRE even if their next game is washed out." Yes. If Friday's games happen, then it's a straight winner take all affair in both matchups (West Indies v Ireland, Scotland v Zimbabwe). But if a washout happens, NRR here is crucial.